Health claims made on foods: new study

On September 8th, the EU Parliament published an assessment on health claims made on foods. The study aims to support the work of the European Parliament's Subcommittee on Public Health (SANT) on its implementation report on the EU Regulation on nutrition and health claims made on foods (Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006). The Commission report was published in 2020.

Health claims are statements implying that consuming a specific food or ingredient has health benefits or supports the health of the consumer. Among the types of health claims are function claims, which are supported by generally accepted scientific evidence. The authorised claim on walnuts ('walnuts contribute to the improvement of the elasticity of blood vessels') is an example of function claim.

Among the key points of the study are an evaluation of the Regulation, an examination of the available literature on health implications of botanicals, marketing practices on health claims and their impact on consumer behaviour, similarities and differences between the legal framework for health claims in the EU, the UK and the US, and policy recommendations.

Nutrition claims are not in the scope.

Link to the study: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document/EPRS_STU(2023)747456

Contact: mzurli@frucom.eu