The EU Nutrition and Health Claims Regulation will mean “fundamental changes” to the way companies can communicate health issues, says international food and nutrition policy consultancy EAS.
Stefanie Geiser, regulatory affairs manager at EAS, said that while there is still a lot of uncertainty relating to the European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA) expectations for health claims dossiers, a lot can already be learnt and incorporated into new marketing strategies from the opinions it has given so far.
“The claims regulation has fundamentally changed the marketing rules for communicating health messages on food products,” said Geiser, “but it has not closed the door. Companies should find ways of benefitting from the use of already approved heath claims and carefully check that their claims dossier and scientific studies conform to EFSA standards before filing a new claims application.”
“Marketing will continue, but in a different form and with more significant limitations,” she added. “Companies need to be considering now how to benefit from future opportunities.”
• EAS is holding a workshop to address these issues. ‘Claims: Dealing with the present, planning for the future’ will tae place in Brussels on June 12. Visit www.eas.eu for more information.
