EFSA publishes health claims guidance; calls for input until September 11

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published a 29-page health claims guidance to clarify its health claims scientific criteria and is calling for stakeholder input until September 11.

The EU’s central food science agency said the guidance was necessary because “general issues that are common to all health claims need to be further clarified and addressed.”

The guidance goes over topics including:

  • Scientific standards versus regulatory requirements
  • Claims on essential nutrients and other substances
  • How EFSA’s Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA) identifies “pertinent human studies”
  • The use of meta-analyses in NDA health claim opinions
  • Extrapolation of results between study and target populations
  • The use of comparative claims
  • Conditions of use
  • Claim withdrawal
  • Submission logistics

Food and food supplement trade groups said they would take the opportunity to comment on the guidance.

More information is here and a page for submitting comments.

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The health claims process (Shane STARLING)