"If the obesity rate amongst European children continues to rise, the results could be nothing short of catastrophic," said David Byrne, European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection in a speech to the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Protection Committee of the European Parliament last week.
Byrne spoke of the worrying problem of obesity and growing rates of overweight among children, as confirmed by recent research. He also discussed the proposed regulations on health claims as a means of ensuring better food choices of European consumers.
"Improving public health is a shared responsibility of the EU institutions, Member States and stakeholders. We also need to make sure that those consumers who want to make healthy food choices are given correct information through proper labelling and that they are not confused or misled by claims alleging certain health or nutritional benefits of the foods they buy."
The Commissioner was clearly referring to recent reports commissioned by food agencies showing that many health claims do little but confuse consumers. Health claims and nutrition labelling has recently been identified as a priority measure to be followed up by the Commission.
"I favour the approach of science-based validation of food claims to ensure that every claim can be properly justified," said Byrne.
Health claims should, according to the Commissioner, describe the role of a nutrient, or other substance, based on long-established and non-controversial science.
"'Calcium is an essential nutrient for the development of healthy teeth and bones', for example. Or 'fibre helps intestinal function'. We would plan to draw up a list of 'permitted claims' within three years of the entry into force of the Regulation," he said. Other health claims signalling a reduction of the risk of disease, such as 'Whole grain may help keep your heart healthy', would always require scientific evaluation and pre-marketing approval.
He added that health claims should be supplemented by a general statement indicating the importance of a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle.
Byrne's final proposal will also govern the use of nutrition claims by providing a list of authorised claims together with specific conditions for their use. This will ensure that nutrition claims such as 'low-fat'or 'sugar-free' are made according to specific criteria.
And claims that are misleading due to the way they are expressed, for example '90 per cent fat-free' are also on the cards for regulation.
Byrne also tried to ease the fears of some food manufacturers. "We are not drawing up a blacklist of foods to be avoided. All foods can have their place in a balanced diet. We do not intend to prohibit the use of claims on certain foods on the basis of their 'nutritional profile'. This would run contrary to the basic principle in nutrition that there are no 'good' and 'bad' foods but rather 'good' and 'bad' diets."
Byrne also outlined the work required for the proposed nutritional labelling directive. Work on all proposals is currently under way and is expected to result in a preliminary draft at the end of the year.