Health Claims On Food Labels Article Index for
Health
Website Links For
Health
 

Information About

Health Claims On Food Labels





LAW IN THE UNITED STATES


In the United States , these claims, usually referred to as "qualfied health claims", are Regulated by the Food And Drug Administration in the Public Interest . See 21 Code of Federal Regulations § 101.14 .

On July 10 , 2003 , the Food And Drug Administration announced plans to permit the manufacturers of food products sold in the United States to make health claims on food labels which are supported by less than conclusive evidence.

The current rule requires "significant scientific consensus" before a claim can be made. The proposed rule, effective September 1 , 2003 , will permit characterization of health claims using a hierarchy of Degrees Of Certainty :
  • A: "There is significant scientific agreement for claim "

  • B: "Although there is some scientific evidence supporting claim , the evidence is not conclusive."

  • C: "Some scientific evidence suggests claim . However, the F.D.A. has determined that this evidence is limited and not conclusive."

  • D: "Very limited and preliminary scientific research suggests claim . The F.D.A. concludes that there is little scientific evidence supporting this claim."


The proposal is being criticized as opening the door to ill-founded claims. Advocates believe it will make more information available to the public.


EUROPEAN LAWS


In the United Kingdom , the law requires that any health claim on food labels must be true and not misleading. Food producers may optionally use the Joint Health Claims Inititiative to determine whether their claims are likely to be legally sustainable.

In Europe in early 2005 the project PASSCLAIM was ended (Process for the Assessment of Scientific Support for Claims on Foods). The project was sponsored by the European Union and coordinated by ILSI-Europe (http://europe.ilsi.org/). The aim of the PASSCLAIM project was to develop criteria for the .


SEE ALSO



EXTERNAL LINKS