European Commission Adopts Landmark List of Permitted Health Claims
A list of 222 health claims has been approved by the European Commission. This list, which is based on sound scientific advice, will be used throughout the EU and will also help to remove misleading claims from the market before the end of the year.
Health claims on food labelling and in advertising, for example on the role of calcium and bone health or vitamin C and the immune system, have become vital marketing tools to attract consumers’ attention. Therefore EU consumers expect accurate information on products they buy, in particular on the health claims the products may put forward.
Claims for which the authorisation 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.
Food manufacturers will have a period of 6 months to adapt their practices to the new requirements. As from the beginning of December 2012 all claims that are not authorised and not on hold/under consideration shall be prohibited.
The list that has now been adopted today by the European Commission contains 222 claims, representing nearly 500 entries from the consolidated list. More than 1600 of these entries will not be authorised. For the rest, the authorisation process is in the process of being finalised. It is the responsibility of the Member States’ authorities to enforce the rules on health claims.
