WHAT IS A HEALTH CLAIM?
"A health claim is any statement that states, suggests or implies that there is a relationship between a food category, a food or one of its ingredients and health."
WHAT IS A CLAIM?
A claim means any message or representation, which is not mandatory under Community or national legislation, including pictorial, graphic or symbolic representation, in any form, which states, suggests or implies that a food has particular characteristics.
TYPES OF HEALTH CLAIMS
Several types of health claims can be distinguished under Regulation 1924/2006:
- functional claims
- functional claims added based on newly developed scientific data
- health claims referring to the reduction of disease risk and referring to children's development and health
WHEN CAN A HEALTH CLAIM BE USED?
Nutrition and health claims may only be used in the labelling, presentation and advertising of foods placed on the market in the Community if they comply with the provisions of Regulation 1924/2006.
AN UNDERSTANDABLE HEALTH CLAIM
The use of nutrition claims shall only be permitted where the average consumer can be expected to understand the beneficial effects described in the claim.
Health claims must not:
- be false, ambiguous or misleading;
- give rise to doubt about the safety or nutritional adequacy of other foods;
- encourage or condone excessive consumption of a food;
- state, imply or give the impression that a balanced and varied diet cannot provide adequate amounts of nutrients in general. Derogations for nutrients that cannot be provided in sufficient quantities by a balanced and varied diet, including the conditions for their application, designed to amend non-essential elements of Regulation 1924/2006 by supplementing it, may be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny taking into account the particular conditions prevailing in Member States;
- refer to changes in bodily functions in such a way as to induce or exploit fear in the consumer, by means of text or pictorial, graphic or symbolic representations.
CONDITIONS FOR THE USE OF HEALTH CLAIMS
A health claim may be made on a product if:
- the presence, absence or reduced content in a food or category of food of a nutrient or other substance in respect of which the claim is made has been shown to have a beneficial nutritional or physiological effect, based on generally accepted scientific evidence;
- the nutrient or other substance for which the claim is made:
- is contained in the final product in a significant quantity as defined in Community legislation or, where such rules do not exist, in a quantity that will produce the nutritional or physiological effect claimed as established by generally accepted scientific evidence; or
- is not present or is present in a reduced quantity that will produce the nutritional or physiological effect claimed as established by generally accepted scientific evidence;
- where applicable, the nutrient or other substance for which the claim is made is in a form that is available to be used by the body;
- the quantity of the product that can reasonably be expected to be consumed provides a significant quantity of the nutrient or other substance to which the claim relates, as defined in Community legislation or, where such rules do not exist, a significant quantity that will produce the nutritional or physiological effect claimed as established by generally accepted scientific evidence;
- compliance with the specific conditions set out in Regulation No 1924/2006.
AUTHORITY AUTHORISING A HEALTH CLAIM
In accordance with the Food and Nutrition Safety Act in Poland, the Main Sanitary Inspector (MIS) is the authority that receives applications for the authorisation of a health claim. He or she then forwards them (if it is not necessary to supplement the applications with additional information) to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). EFSA issues an opinion in which it assesses the content of the claim. Based on this, the European Commission issues a decision on the applicability of the health claim in question.
The control of all relevant data and information confirming the legitimate use of health claims is carried out by the State Sanitary Inspectorate (SSI).
CLAIMS RELATING TO THE REDUCTION OF DISEASE RISK AND TO CHILDREN'S DEVELOPMENT AND HEALTH
- if a health claim does not refer to the reduction of disease risk and to children's development and health, its use is authorised after it has been entered into the Register of Authorised Health Claims .
- if, on the other hand, the claim concerns the reduction of disease risk and claims relating to children's development and health, then an application must be made to the Chief Sanitary Inspector for authorisation.
SPECIFIC CONDITIONS FOR THE USE OF HEALTH CLAIMS
Remember:
- health claims must comply with the general and specific requirements indicated in Regulation 1924/2006 and must be authorised accordingly, otherwise their use is prohibited;
- health claims are also subject to other legislation (e.g. the Act on Combating Unfair Competition), which must also not be infringed. Before applying for authorisation for a health claim to be entered in the register, it is therefore worth verifying that we will indeed be able to use the claim in question. An opinion from a law firm can help us with this.
FOOTNOTES
- Article 2(2)(5) Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 on nutrition and health claims made on foods (OJ. EU. L. of 2006. No. 404, p. 9 as amended, hereinafter "Regulation 1924/2006").
- Article 2(2)(1) of Regulation 1924/2006.
- They relate to the role of a nutrient or other substance in growth, development and bodily functions, or to psychological or behavioural functions, or relate to weight loss or weight control, or to a reduction in the sense of hunger or an increase in the sense of satiety or to the reduction of the available energy from the diet - Article 13(1) of Regulation 1924/2006.
- Article 13(5) of Regulation 1924/2006.
- Article 14(1) of Regulation 1924/2006.
- Commission Regulation (EU) No 175/2014 of 25 February 2014 refusing to authorise certain health claims made on foods, other than those referring to the reduction of disease risk and to children's development and health (OJ EU. L. 2014 No 56, p. 7).
- Commission Regulation (EU) No 1170/2011 of 16 November 2011 refusing to authorise certain health claims made on foods and referring to the reduction of disease risk (OJ EU. L. 2011 No 299, p. 1).
- Commission Regulation (EU) No 383/2010 of 5 May 2010 refusing to authorise a health claim made on foods, other than those referring to the reduction of disease risk and to children's development and health (OJ 2010 L. No 113, p. 4).
- Article 3 of Regulation 1924/2006.
- Act of 25 August 2006 on food and nutrition safety (i.e. Journal of Laws 2023, item 1448).
- Art. 73(4)(2) of the Food and Nutrition Safety Act.
- Article 13(1) of Regulation 1924/2006 and Commission Regulation (EU) No 432/2012 of 16 May 2012 establishing a list of permitted health claims made on foods, other than those referring to the reduction of disease risk and to children's development and health (OJ EU. L. 2012 No. 136, p. 1, as amended).
- Article 14(1) in conjunction with Article 13(1) of Regulation 1924/2006.