Suchergebnisse

Nutrition is recognized as one of the leading factors influencing the growing incidence of noncommunicable diseases. Despite society experiencing a global rise in obesity, specific populations remain at risk of nutrient deficiencies. The food industry can use health claims to inform consumers about the health benefits of foods through labeling and the broader promotion of specific food products. As health claims are carefully regulated in many countries, their use is limited due to considerable investments required to fulfill the regulatory requirement. Although health claims represent a driving force for innovation in the food industry, the risk of misleading of consumers need to be avoided. The health claim scientific substantiation process must be efficient and transparent in order to meet the needs of companies in the global market, but should be based on strong scientific evidence and plausible mechanisms of actions, to ensure highest level of consumer protection. The objective of this review is to compare the possibilities for using health claims on foods in the European Union, the USA, Canada, and Australia and New Zealand. In particular, we focused on differences in the classification of claims, on the scientific substantiation processes and requirements for health claims use on foods in the selected regions. Reduction of disease risk (RDR) claims are associated with relatively similar procedures and conditions for use, whereas several notable differences were identified for other types of claims. In all cases, RDR claims must be approved prior their introduction to the market, and only a few such claims have been authorized. Much greater differences were observed concerning other types of claims.

Branded food composition databases are an important tool for research, education, healthcare, and policy making, amongst others. Such databases are typically compiled using food labeling data without chemical analyses of specific products. This study aimed to verify whether the labeled sugar content in sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) corresponds to the actual sugar content in these products, thus enabling food monitoring studies to be conducted. A secondary objective was to determine the specific types of sugars in these SSBs. A case study was conducted using market share-driven sampling of these beverages from the Slovenian food supply. On the basis of nationwide yearly sales data, 51 best-selling products were sampled in 2020 and analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography. This sales-driven approach to sampling has been shown to be very useful for conducting food monitoring studies. With the careful selection of a small proportion of available products, we finished with a manageable sample size, reflecting the composition of a majority (69%) of the national market share volume. The analyzed total sugar content was compared with labeled data, within the context of the European Union's regulatory labeling tolerances. In all samples, the sugar content was within the tolerance levels. The most common (N = 41) deviation was within ±10% of the labeled sugar content. In the subcategories, the differences between the analyzed and labeled median sugar contents were not statistically significant. Sucrose was most commonly (N = 36; 71%) used for sweetening, suggesting that the proportion of fructose in most SSBs was around 50%. A higher fructose content was only observed in beverages with fructose–glucose syrup or a higher content of fruit juice. The study results show that the labeled sugar content information in SSBs is reliable and can be used to compile branded food databases and monitor the nutritional quality of foods in the food supply.

Background: While functional foods offer promise for public health and innovation in the food industry, the efficiency of such foods should be assured to protect consumers from misleading claims. Globally, many countries regulate the communication of the health effects of such foods to final consumers. Scope and approach: In the European Union (EU), the use of health claims was harmonized in 2006. All claims need to be scientifically assessed by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and pre-approved. Implementing the regulation has involved a steep learning curve for stakeholders, resulting in many health claims being rejected. The EU-funded REDICLAIM project used existing guidance documents, analyses of Scientific Opinions on new health claim applications, and a series of interviews with experts involved in such applications to identify key points in the process of authorizing new health claims. Key findings and conclusions: Recommendations for the successful substantiation of new health claims in the EU were prepared. The substantiation of health claims is primarily based on human efficacy studies, and greater resources are required to authorize more innovative claims. The reported recommendations should be seen as a starting point for researchers in the area of nutrition and food technology, and for those dealing with functional foods, including the food industry.

Background While functional foods offer promise for public health and innovation in the food industry, the efficiency of such foods should be assured to protect consumers from misleading claims. Globally, many countries regulate the communication of the health effects of such foods to final consumers. Scope and approach In the European Union (EU), the use of health claims was harmonized in 2006. All claims need to be scientifically assessed by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and pre-approved. Implementing the regulation has involved a steep learning curve for stakeholders, resulting in many health claims being rejected. The EU-funded REDICLAIM project used existing guidance documents, analyses of Scientific Opinions on new health claim applications, and a series of interviews with experts involved in such applications to identify key points in the process of authorizing new health claims. Key findings and conclusions Recommendations for the successful substantiation of new health claims in the EU were prepared. The substantiation of health claims is primarily based on human efficacy studies, and greater resources are required to authorize more innovative claims. The reported recommendations should be seen as a starting point for researchers in the area of nutrition and food technology, and for those dealing with functional foods, including the food industry. Keywords Functional foods; Health claims; Food labelling; Substantiation; Regulation; European Union