Scientific Opinion on the substantiation of health claims related to various food(s)/food constituent(s) and health relationships that are not sufficiently defined (ID 9, 377, 531, 555, 560, 569, 582, 583, 584, 585, 589, 590, 675, 692, 847, 1199, 1265, 1267, 1342, 1352, 1357, 1368, 1369, 1379, 1382, 1383, 1399, 1401, 1477, 1480, 1482, 1530, 1625, 1732, 1777, 1792, 1814, 1837, 1998, 2175, 2212, 2223, 2329, 2487, 2504, 2753, 2916, 3076, 3667, 3692, 4241, 4243, 4247, 4248, 4278, 4407); are not referring to a function of the body ( ID 1233, 1385, 1406, 1746, 1879, 1950, 3131, 4202); are related to the prevention or treatment of a disease (ID 1859, 2552, 2743, 2773, 3087, 3164, 3687); are not referring to a beneficial physiological effect ( ID 544, 545, 648, 773, 782, 1399, 1781, 1795, 1842, 1906, 1944, 2759, 2825, 2886, 3128, 3137, 3153, 3519, 3972, 4112, 4662, 4691) pursuant to Article 13(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006

Following a request from the European Commission, the Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies was asked to provide a scientific opinion on a list of health claims pursuant to Article 13 of Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006. This opinion addresses the scientific substantiation of health claims related to various food(s)/food constituent(s) and "anti-aging properties", "maintenance of urinary tract", "cardiovascular health", "vascular and vein health", "blood flow/vascular function", "hormonal balance", prevention or treatment of prostate cancer, "women's health", "menstrual health", "absorption of nutrients", improvement of the digestion of macronutrients (e.g. carbohydrates, proteins and lipids), "digestive function", "gut health", "intestinal flora", increasing numbers of gastro-intestinal microorganisms, "stomach health", "powerful protectors of the stomach", reduction of gastric acid, treatment of diarrhoea and/or vomiting, "liver health", "nervous system function", "mental energy", "mental health", "physical and mental health", "physical performance", "overtraining and effort prevention", "physical well-being", "skin health", maintenance of normal structure and appearance of hair and nails structure, maintenance of normal structure and elasticity of the skin, prevention or treatment of acne, prevention or treatment of cellulitis, "function of the cell membrane", "mucous membranes", "immune system", increasing non-specific IgA secretion, stimulation of natural killer cell activity, induction of cytokine production, immune defence against pathogens, "essential for the balanced body functions, with special regards to the immune system", decreasing the absorption of alcohol, increase in muscle creatine stores, and "improves mechanical activity of gallbladder". The scientific substantiation is based on the information provided by the Member States in the consolidated list of Article 13 health claims and references that EFSA has received from Member States or directly from stakeholders. The Panel considers that the following claimed effects are general and non-specific, and do not refer to any specific health claims as required by Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006: "anti-aging properties" (ID 1352), "maintenance of urinary tract" (ID 1199, 1369), "cardiovascular health" (ID 569, 582, 1382), "vascular and vein health" (ID 1480, 1998, 2212, 2753, 3667, 4278), "blood flow/vascular function" (ID 1265), "hormonal balance" (ID 1837, 2916), "women's health" (ID 531), "menstrual health" (ID 2487), "absorption of nutrients" (ID 1814), "digestive function" (ID 377, 692, 1267, 1357, 1401, 1625, 2329, 3692), "gut health" (ID 585, 2223), "intestinal flora" (ID 3076), "stomach health" (ID 2175), "powerful protectors of the stomach" (ID 1368), "liver health" (ID 583, 2504), "nervous system function" (ID 1383, 1732) "mental energy" (ID 1530), "mental health" (ID 555), "physical and mental health" ( ID 9), "physical performance" (ID 560, 4248), "overtraining and effort prevention" (ID 4247), "physical well-being" (ID 4407), "skin health" (ID 584, 590, 1379, 4241, 4243), "function of the cell membrane" (ID 1777), "mucous membranes" (ID 589), "immune system" (ID 675, 847, 1399, 1482, 1792), immune defence against pathogens (ID 1477), "essential for the balanced body functions, with special regards to the immune system" (ID 675), and "improves mechanical activity of gallbladder" (ID 1342). The Panel considers that the following claimed effects do not refer to a function of the body as required by Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006: maintenance of normal structure and appearance of hair and nails structure (ID 1233, 1385, 1746, 1879, 4202), and maintenance of normal structure and elasticity of the skin (ID 1385, 1406, 1746, 1879, 1950, 3131). The Panel considers that the following claimed effects are related to the prevention or treatment of a disease and do not comply with the criteria laid down in Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006: prevention or treatment of prostate cancer (ID 1859, 2773), treatment of diarrhoea and/or vomiting (ID 3087), prevention or treatment of acne (ID 2552, 3164), and prevention or treatment of cellulitis (ID 2743, 3687). The Panel considers that macronutrient digestion is not impaired in the general population and that no evidence has been provided that an improvement of the digestion of macronutrients (e.g. carbohydrates, proteins and lipids) (ID 1781, 1842, 2825, 3137, 3519, 3972, 4662, 4691) is a beneficial physiological effect per se for the general population. On the basis of the data presented, the Panel concludes that a cause and effect relationship has not been established between the consumption of the food(s)/food constituent( s) which are the subject of the health claims and a beneficial physiological effect related to the digestion of carbohydrates, proteins and lipids. The Panel considers that the evidence provided does not establish that increasing numbers of gastro-intestinal microorganisms (ID 773, 782, 1399) is a beneficial physiological effect. On the basis of the data presented, the Panel concludes that a cause and effect relationship has not been established between the consumption of the food(s)/food constituent(s) which are the subject of the health claims and a beneficial physiological effect related to increasing numbers of gastrointestinal microorganisms. The Panel considers that the evidence provided does not establish that reduction of gastric acid (ID 1795, 1906, 2759, 2886) is a beneficial physiological effect per se for the general population. On the basis of the data presented, the Panel concludes that a cause and effect relationship has not been established between the consumption of the food(s)/food constituent(s) which are the subject of the health claims and a beneficial physiological effect related to reduction of gastric acid. The Panel considers that the evidence provided does not establish that increasing non-specific IgA secretion (ID 1944) is a beneficial physiological effect per se. On the basis of the data presented, the Panel concludes that a cause and effect relationship has not been established between the consumption of the food(s)/food constituent(s) which are the subject of the health claims and a beneficial physiological effect related to an increase of non-specific IgA secretion. The Panel considers that the evidence provided does not establish that stimulation of natural killer cell activity (ID 3128, 3153) is a beneficial physiological effect per se. On the basis of the data presented, the Panel concludes that a cause and effect relationship has not been established between the consumption of the food(s)/food constituent(s) which are the subject of the health claims and a beneficial physiological effect related to the stimulation of natural killer cell activity. The Panel considers that the evidence provided does not establish that induction of cytokine production (e.g. TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma) (ID 4112) is a beneficial physiological effect for the general population per se. On the basis of the data presented, the Panel concludes that a cause and effect relationship has not been established between the consumption of the food(s)/food constituent(s) which are the subject of the health claims and a beneficial physiological effect related to the induction of cytokine production. The Panel considers that the evidence provided does not establish that decreasing the absorption of alcohol (ID 648) is a beneficial physiological effect. On the basis of the data presented, the Panel concludes that a cause and effect relationship has not been established between the consumption of the food(s)/food constituent(s) which are the subject of the health claims and a beneficial physiological effect related to decreasing the absorption of alcohol. The Panel considers that from the evidence provided the beneficial physiological effect of increasing muscle creatine stores is unclear (ID 544, 545). On the basis of the data presented, the Panel concludes that a cause and effect relationship has not been established between the consumption of the food(s)/food constituent(s) which are the subject of the health claims and a beneficial physiological effect related to an increase in muscle creatine stores.