Nutrition and health claims - where are we with the health claims assessment process?

Before the European Commission (EC) regulation on nutrition and health claims was developed there was no regulation that specifically dealt with claims made on foods. With voluntary guidance in some European countries and none in others there was increasing concern that claims on food products might be misleading consumers and that claims within Europe might become more and more inconsistent. Since the Regulation came into force in July 2007 a rigorous process of assessing the scientific evidence of approximately 44,000 claims submitted has been carried out by a working group of experts. Given the volume of claims being submitted the assessment process has been met with challenges and many facets of the Regulation have been delayed, including the working document on nutrient profiling. The majority of the third batch of the Euopean food Safety Authority (EFSA) opinions on Article 13.1 claims has received negative opinions and reasons that claims submitted to this Article are being rejected are considered as well as strengths and limitations of the regulation at present. This article will discuss EFSA opinions on health claims as of April 2011. EFSA is engaging with the food industry through stakeholder meetings, guidance documents and web-consultations. More research is needed to establish consumers' understanding of health claims and continued engagement and dialogue between EFSA's Dietetic Products Nutrition and Allergies (NDA) panel and the food industry is required, so that the consumer is protected from misleading health claims and innovation is encouraged in the food industry for the production of healthier food products.