Health claim creativity called for at Vitafoods

19-May-2010 - Last updated on 21-May-2010 at 09:35 GMT

With little change in sight in the European Union’s new stringent health claims system, industry is being urged to get creative to promote healthy foods and supplements, at a packed Vitafoods discussion this morning.

Establishing online focus groups to disseminate health information on particular sectors, products or ingredients, utilising nutrition content claims and taking business to business marketing to consumers were among the suggestions from the panelists.

The panelists - DSM’s Bas van Buijtenen, Patrick Coppens, from the Brussels consultancy, EAS, Henry Dixon from UK PR firm Barret Dixon Bell, and Alban Maggiar from the French trade group, Synadiet, were led through a lively discussion by Simon Pettman, also from EAS.

Industry-backed initiatives to promote ingredients could be beneficial said Dixon, but Coppens warned that even seemingly neutral messaging may be deemed to fall within the health claims regulation.

Wording and branding

"It is simple – any communication linking a health benefit and product can be considered a claim", Coppens said.

He warned that even statements like ‘probiotics inside’ could be deemed a health claim under the regulation but said this interpretation had "no legal value and could be challenged".

Dixon said strong brands that may be forced to remove their health claim messaging may in turn remove the often expensive healthful ingredients and continue selling under the same brand which consumers may understand to deliver certain benefits, but which no longer exist.

"What we are seeing is the importance of the brand and those that have the budgets to promote their brands," Dixon said.

Van Buijtenen highlighted how the regulation favoured bigger brands that could generate the returns to justify investing in expensive trials.

Maggiar said only the European Parliament had shown concern about the environmental impact of the regulation and not the European Commission or the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

Coppens said a lack of an economic assessment programme was contributing to the diminution of one of the pillars of the regulation – to protect consumers.

“The EC should be careful of the way the regulation is being implemented because health benefits are being ignored,” he said.