The 442 claims assessed relate to health relationships in such areas as:
These opinions will help inform future decisions of the European Commission and EU member states which are responsible for the authorisation of the claims. EFSA will finalise the evaluation of the remaining 600 ‘general function’ health claims which need to be assessed by June 2011.
“Experts on the Panel have completed the evaluation of about 80% of ‘general function’ health claims, excluding the so-called ‘botanical’ claims, and are committed to finalising the remaining claims by the agreed deadline,” said Dr Juliane Kleiner, head of EFSA’s NDA Unit.
Claims evaluated with a favourable outcome include the relation between:
The experts also conclude that a number of claims based on the replacement of certain nutrients were supported by sufficient scientific evidence including:
As for previous evaluations, many of the unfavourable opinions in this series were linked to the poor quality of the information provided to EFSA. Information gaps included, for instance:
In addition, some claims were outside the scope of the current legal framework.
EFSA and its scientific experts are pursuing dialogue with stakeholders to further explain their work and to provide applicants with additional guidance on preparing applications.
Following consultations carried out in 2010, EFSA will launch three additional on-line consultations later this month on guidance for health claims related to:
Source: EFSA
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