The UK’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) has opened a ‘Health Claims List’ in preparation for the new European Health & Nutritional Claims Regulation that is expected to come into force next year and regulate what health and nutritional claims can be made on food products.
The new EU regulation on nutrition and health claims was adopted by the EU Council of Ministers this month, looks likely to be published by the end of the year and enter into force in January 2007, becoming applicable by next July. The regulation is envisaged to harmonise health and nutritional claims that can be made on food products throughout the EU. A copy of the draft Regulation may be accessed by clicking here.
Under the new legislation, Member States, including the UK, will be responsible for compiling a list of health claims for consideration for a Community wide approved list. To be eligible for consideration, claims must be based on generally accepted science and relate to the role of a nutrient or other substance in growth, development and functions of the body, psychological and behavioural functions or slimming and weight control.
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The UK’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) has opened a ‘Health Claims List’ in preparation for the new European Health & Nutritional Claims Regulation that is expected to come into force next year and regulate what health and nutritional claims can be made on food products.
The new EU regulation on nutrition and health claims was adopted by the EU Council of Ministers this month, looks likely to be published by the end of the year and enter into force in January 2007, becoming applicable by next July. The regulation is envisaged to harmonise health and nutritional claims that can be made on food products throughout the EU. A copy of the draft Regulation may be accessed at by clicking here.
Under the new legislatin, Member States, including the UK, will be responsible for compiling a list of health claims for consideration for a Community wide approved list. To be eligible for consideration, claims must be based on generally accepted science and relate to the role of a nutrient or other substance in growth, development and functions of the body, psychological and behavioural functions or slimming and weight control.
The FSA is asking food businesses to submit health claims for consideration for inclusion on the European list of permitted health claims. Once compiled, the UK list will be submitted for assessment, on advice from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), and agreement by all Member States.
The FSA is opening its’ list early in order to provide food businesses with as much time as possible to compile the evidence required for their claims. Applications must be accompanied by references to scientific justification and conditions of use. Once the Regulation enters into force Member States will have 12 months to compile their lists. There will then be a two-year period during which EFSA will assess the claims and the Standing Committee will adopt the final list. Health claims that are not included on the final Community list will not be permitted for use once the list has been adopted.
A current list of health claims, and the standard template for seeking inclusion on the list may be accessed by clicking here.
Claims that are not eligible for inclusion on the UK health claims list, include claims based on emerging rather than generally accepted scientific evidence (novel claims,) disease risk reduction claims and claims that refer to children's development and health. Manufacturers who want to use these types of claims must submit a dossier of supporting evidence for assessment by EFSA.
A draft list of permitted Nutrition claims has already been compiled ready for agreement by Member States and is annexed to the draft Regulation.
This article was written for Law-Now, CMS Cameron McKenna's free online information service. To register for Law-Now, please go to www.law-now.com/law-now/mondaq
Law-Now information is for general purposes and guidance only. The information and opinions expressed in all Law-Now articles are not necessarily comprehensive and do not purport to give professional or legal advice. All Law-Now information relates to circumstances prevailing at the date of its original publication and may not have been updated to reflect subsequent developments.
The original publication date for this article was 19/10/2006.
