Commission Approves List of EU Permitted Health Claims on Foods

BRUSSELSThe European Commission passed a major milestone in regulating health claims on food by approving a list of 222 permitted health claims that can appear on products in the European Union. Food manufacturers will have six months to adapt their practices to the new requirements. Beginning in December 2012 all claims that are not authorized and not on hold/under consideration will be prohibited.

Today's decision is the culmination of years of work and marks a major milestone in regulating health claims on food. The EU-wide list of permitted health claims will be available online and will allow consumers everywhere in the EU to make an informed choice," said John Dalli, commissioner in charge of Health and Consumer Policy. Non-scientifically backed claims will have to be removed from the market after a short transition period."

The Commission said the list, which is based on sound scientific advice, will be used throughout the EU and will help to remove misleading claims from the market before the end of the year. The list also provides legal clarity to food manufacturers on the health claims they can or cannot make.

Dalli added: Some work remains to be done and the Commissionwith the needed scientific backgroundwill now focus on concluding its work by tackling those claims which are still under consideration."

Claims for which the authorization process is complete will be listed in the Union Register of nutrition and health claims made on foods, as required by Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 on nutrition and health claims made on foods. This Union Register is an interactive database and is on the Commission's website.

Member States submitted lists of about 44,000 health claims in 2008, which were consolidated by the Commission into a list of some 4,600. By 2010 these claims were sent to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) which conducted a scientific assessment of whether the claims could be substantiated. EFSA finalized its main body of work for all health claims other than those on botanical substances in June 2011. Member States agreed to authorize the claims listed in the Annex to this Commission Regulation during the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health of Dec. 5, 2011. Both the European Parliament and the Council considered this list under the scrutiny period, which ended with no objections on April 27, 2012.

The list adopted by the Commission contains 222 claims, representing nearly 500 entries from the consolidated list. More than 1600 of the entries will not be authorized. For the rest, the authorization process is in the process of being finalized. It is the responsibility of the Member States' authorities to enforce the rules on health claims.