The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has updated its advice for preparing and presenting health claim applications.
The new guidance introduces a standardised format applications and details the kind of information and data that applicants need to submit in support of their claim. The guidance applies to health claims related to a type of food, a food category or food constituents.
The new guidance is an update of the 2011 version and incorporates insights and lessons learned from several years of experience in evaluating health claims, EFSA said.
The update is aligned with EFSA’s 2016 general scientific guidance on health claim applications, which outlines the evaluation process and gives applicants a better understanding of the assessment criteria.
Valeriu Curtui, head of EFSA’s nutrition unit, said: “We expect the updated guidance to increase the efficiency of evaluating health claims once applicants adhere to the new application format.”
As part of the new instructions, applicants are advised to send, along with the required administrative and technical information, the following: data on the characterisation of the food or food constituent for which the claim is made; information to allow the characterisation of the claimed effect; and data to substantiate the health claim;
The guidance further clarifies how to present this information, applying a defined order of the type of data and study designs applicable to specific applications.
The document also identifies the key issues to be addressed when substantiating a health claim.
EFSA is the European body responsible for assessing health claim applications, and either granting brands permission to use certain health claims for their products or turning them down.
Last year, the agency accepted seven claims and rejected almost three times as many – 20 claims in total.
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