Health Claims for Food Supplements

andywren77 on 10 22, 2009

HEALTH CLAIMS FOR FOOD SUPPLEMENTS

Many concerned consumers have been asking us about the latest legislation on health claims for food supplements. It’s true to say this is both an in-depth and very concerning issue for the nutritional profession. To try and help consumers understand the process the nutritional industry is engaged in better, please find below a copy of a recent industry update from The HFMA.

Yours sincerely

Andrew Wren.

Managing Director

Nutrigold Ltd

Statement prepared by the Health Food Manufacturers’ Association (HFMA) / 22nd September 2009

The EU regulation on nutrition and health claims made on foods applies to all commercial communication – whether on-pack or via marketing. This law establishes a system for evaluation of health claims prior to publication of a Community list of permitted claims for foods1 which can then be used for products meeting specific conditions of use.

On 1st October 2009, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) published the first batch of opinions on 523 generic health claims from a list of over 4,000 claims that was consolidated by the EC following submissions by member states. In the UK, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) – the authority overseeing health claims – submitted some 2,000 health claims for consideration.

The health claims relate to the relationship between specific food categories, a food or one of its constituents and a health effect. The EC requested that EFSA provide scientific advice about the extent to which a cause and effect relationship has been established between a food and the claimed benefit. The majority of the claims in question relate to the role of a nutrient or other substance in growth, development and the functions of the body. Other types of claims, such as those relating to nutritional content, children’s development and health, the reduction of risk of a disease or ‘emerging science’, undergo different procedures.

In assessing these generic claims, EFSA have been tasked with considering the totality of the available data and weighing the evidence relating to each claim. However, because EFSA have been very slow to publish details of the approach they are adopting in formulating their opinions, there are concerns that they will have utilised an inappropriate, pharmaceutical-based approach to the evaluation of claims on foods whose role in health maintenance2 displays a very different mode of action from drugs EFSA’s opinions have no legal status as such, rather they will be considered as part of a ‘risk management’