“Health claims” are health claims that companies can claim on the labels of their products. Their aim is to make consumers more aware when purchasing, because they communicate that a series of benefits can derive from the consumption of that food – or an ingredient contained within it. For example, a food that contains specific amounts of linoleic acid can help maintain normal blood cholesterol levels.
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“Health claims” non sono i “nutritional claims”
“Health claims” should not be confused with “nutritional claims”, which, instead, indicate that a product has certain nutritional characteristics, considered positive. These are the various expressions that read, among other things, “low fat”, “source of omega 3”, “no added sugar” and so on.
All “claims” are validated by a scientific body: in the European Union by EFSA, the European Food Safety Authority; in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration.
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Silvia Valtueña Martineza scientific expert in the Human Nutrition team at Efsa, explains to Salute how the approval of a “health claim” works.
Who can request it?
“In theory everyone, in practice we receive questions from the food industry or from companies that produce individual ingredients.”
What does it take to get it?
“It depends from dossier to dossier, because in some cases requests arrive for foods, or their components, on which science already has a lot of information, while for others the scientific literature is still incomplete. In general, however, to obtain a positive evaluation it is It is necessary to provide scientific studies on people, not just animals, and of two types: intervention, which can demonstrate direct causality between the consumption of a food, or ingredient, with an effect on health and observational, which do not necessarily establish a cause-effect relationship, but they can be useful because they are carried out on very large samples of the population.
The studies do not necessarily have to be financed by the company requesting the “claim”, because EFSA’s evaluation is based on all available scientific articles”.
What is the role of EFSA and what is that of the European Commission?
“EFSA’s role is to publish a scientific evaluation, positive or negative, of the material provided in support of the “claim”. After that, there are 30 days in which anyone – from the requesting company to other public actors – has the opportunity to send comments to the European Commission, which together with the Member States will have the final say in the authorization procedure.
There are some “health claims” that have received a positive evaluation from EFSA, because they are scientifically proven, but which the EU then decided not to authorize for other social or environmental reasons. For example, EFSA judged positively a series of indications on caffeine, which the European Commission then decided not to approve for fear of encouraging the consumption of this substance in younger people”.
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How many types of “health claims” are there?
“There are “function health claims”, which indicate a benefit towards the body’s functions, physical or psychological, including slimming or weight control; “risk reduction claims” which, instead, inform about the reduction of a risk factor in the development of a disease; and then there are the specific warnings on children’s health”.
Can you give us examples of “health claims” belonging to these three categories authorized in Europe?
“As regards the first type, in 2009 the indication for linoleic acid was approved as an ingredient that contributes to the maintenance of normal levels of cholesterol in the blood. It can only be used for a food that provides at least 1.5 grams of linoleic acid per 100 grams and the consumer must be informed that the beneficial effect is obtained only with a daily intake of 10 grams of linoleic acid.
On chewing gum sweetened with 100% xylitol – and this “claim” is part of the second type – it can be written, however, that they are able to reduce dental plaque, which is a risk factor for the development of tooth decay. However, it should be noted that the beneficial effect is only obtained by consuming two-three grams of chewing gum three times a day after meals.
Finally, for pediatric “claims”, there are various indications regarding vitamin D, such as the one approved in 2008: for foods that are a source, it can be stated that they contribute to the growth and development of bones in children”.
Is EFSA stricter in its approvals than the American FDA?
“No, the two bodies require the same high level of scientific evidence. The difference is that American legislation also provides for the existence of so-called “qualified health claims”, i.e. health declarations that the FDA does not authorize (because they do not satisfy the more rigorous scientific standard), but which cannot be opposed and which, therefore, the food industry is free to put on the label, as long as the following wording is present: “Supporting scientific evidence is limited”.
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The new “health claim” approved by the FDA on the consumption of yogurt and the reduction of the risk of type 2 diabetes belongs to which category?
“Dei “qualified health claims””.
Would it ever have been approved in Europe?
“The official answer is that we cannot know, because we have not evaluated the dossier. However, I would say that it would have been unlikely, because the level of scientific evidence required for the approval of a claim in Europe would not have been reached.”
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#food #earns #health #sticker
– 2024-05-03 20:23:07
