Abstract
Suggestions that a food contains healthy ingredients or that it can provide beneficial effects upon consumption have been regulated in the EU since 2006. This paper describes the analysis of how this nutrition and health claim regulation has resulted in over 300 authorised claims and how the authorisation requirements and processes have affected the use of claims on foods. Five challenges are identified that negatively affect the current legislation dealing with nutrition and health claims: non-reviewed botanical claims (as well as on hold claims for infants and young children), the lack of nutrient profiles and the focus of claims on single ingredients, consumer understanding, research into health effects of nutrition and finally, enforcement. These challenges are shown to influence the goals of the regulation: protecting consumers from false and misleading claims and stimulating the development of a level playing field in the EU, to foster innovation. Tackling these political and scientific substantiation questions for health claims, together with continuously analysing the understanding and usage of claims by consumers and operators will ensure that the NHCR will stay effective, today and in the future.
Highlights
Food Claims Centre Venlo, Campus Venlo, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Maastricht University, Abstract: Suggestions that a food contains healthy ingredients or that it can provide beneficial effects upon consumption have been regulated in the EU since 2006
Within the NHCR, four types of claims have been distinguished: (i) function claims based on generally accepted scientific evidence (Article 13.1); (ii) function claims based on newly developed scientific insights (Article 13.5); claims referring to reducing a risk factor in disease development (Article 14.1(a)); and claims referring to growth and development of children (Article 14.1(b)) [6]
A large number of claims (25) is still pending, despite 24 positive scientific opinions issued by European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) upon the causal relationship that has been demonstrated between consumption and health effects in children
Summary
Policy instruments regulating the presentation of product-specific information to consumers, can play an important role in providing insights into ‘invisible’ or credence attributes of food products [1] Such attributes that consumers cannot ascertain themselves upon purchase or consumptions but that are of interest to them, can be related to, i.e., production techniques, the effects of the product on the environment or related to potential health benefits of consuming a food [1,2]. The current state of (non-)authorised nutrition and health claims in the EU has been studied from an explorative, interdisciplinary perspective Through this conceptual approach [30], insights from regulatory, food policy, nutrition and consumer sciences were brought together, providing multi-level. This study thereby allows for broadening the theoretical and practical understanding of claims, as well as obstacles and opportunities in improving their regulation
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