Accepted claim: Products containing protein can contribute to growth of muscle mass
“This legislation has been adopted to protect the public from spurious and false claims, and ensure marketing of products is based on evidence accepted by the scientific community”
spurious and false claims made by some food manufacturers. It seeks to ensure advertising and marketing of products is clear, accurate and based on evidence accepted by the scientific community.” According to the ESSNA, over the
last couple of years organisations in the food industry from across the EU have submitted more than 40,000 dossiers of supporting information for their health claims to be assessed. EFSA grouped similar claims together, with the result that around 4,000 different claims were put forward to be reviewed. EFSA has now assessed just over half of the dossiers, and to date only a little over 200 health claims have been approved by the European Commission. Any claims that were rejected in this round of assessment can no longer be used. Any scientific claims that were based
on inconclusive evidence – ie where the claimed benefits might or might not transpire – or claims that were shown not to be deliverable 100 per cent of the time have also been thrown out.
June 2013 © Cybertrek 2013 There are currently still a number of
claims under evaluation, but decisions on these are expected soon.
Questionable process But while the new legislation has consumer interests at heart, some of the verdicts are questionable, and the rejection of some claims doesn’t mean they are actually untrue. Guidance on preparing dossiers for health claims was thin on the ground, meaning insufficient evidence, or sometimes even the wrong kind of evidence, was submitted to EFSA. There were also instances where claims submitted under the wrong category were not even considered. For example, according to this
legislation, only mineral water can rehydrate the body. Even though orange juice can in practice also rehydrate the body, it missed accreditation because it contains sugar and other substances that don’t serve any rehydration purpose. Carey also believes it’s fair to say that, when authorising claims, the authorities
did not always take into account the specific needs of a particular group of the population, including sports people. For example, despite being
scientifically proven, the health claim for sodium tablets – the maintenance of normal muscle function – was rejected, because it went against general public health guidance to reduce levels of sodium intake. However, this failed to take into consideration the fact that elite sports people have different needs from those who are less physically active: sodium is more important for individuals exercising at high intensity, notably athletes. Expert bodies such as the International Olympic Committee have acknowledged that electrolyte losses, including sodium, must be replaced with either sports drinks or foods. Without this, hyponatremia – a condition of low sodium concentration in the bloodstream – can occur. Legislation that was meant to protect
the consumer therefore risks stunting innovation, reducing information flow
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