Nutrition and health claims
The nutrition and health claims used in the labelling, presentation or advertising of foodstuffs are regulated by Regulation (EC) no 1924/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council (issued on 20 December 2006)
on nutrition and health claims made on foods (nutrition and health claim regulation), which entered into force on 1 July 2007.
Claim means any message or representation, which is not mandatory under Community or national legislation, including pictorial, graphic or symbolic representation, in any form, which states, suggests or implies that a food has particular characteristics. Nutrition and health claims can also be in the form of a picture, symbol or graphic presentation.
The nutrition and health claim regulation defines the conditions on which foodstuffs may be promoted with nutrition and health claims and consequently determines common rules and approval procedures for the use of such claims in all EU countries. For example, if the nutrient content of the product does not comply with the nutrient profile that will be established after the entry into force of the Regulation, the product may not in the future bear health claims.
In order to facilitate the interpretation of the nutrition and health claim regulation, the European Commission has published a guidance document for the interpretation of the implementation of the claim regulation.
Changes to previous practice
The major change to the previous practice is the establishment of a system for the pre-authorisation of health claims, and the assessment of the scientific research on which the claims are based. The starting point is that claims cannot be used until the scientific evidence for the claim has been approved.
The health claims made on foodstuffs as well as certain nutrition labelling will be the first to be affected by the Regulation. Nutrition claims shall only be permitted if they are listed in the Annex to the Regulation and are in conformity with the conditions set out in the Regulation. With the exception of non-prepackaged products as well as food supplements, the nutrient content of the product shall always be indicated if a claim related to health or nutrition is made on the product. In addition, certain labelling is compulsory on products that bear claims.
Transition times
The establishment of a system for the authorisation of health claims, the implementation of the assessments and the preparation of the nutrient profiles are a time and effort-consuming project. The transition period for the establishment of the authorisation system runs until 31 January 2010.
The nutrition and health claim regulation defines transition periods of different types of claims and for many changes. Finnish Food Safety Authority has published a Guideline regarding transitional times.
If you have any queries concerning nutrition and health claims, please send them to:
terveysvaite
evira.fi