An international regulatory review of food health-related claims in functional food products labeling

Díaz, Luis Alfredo Baratas; Fernández‐Ruiz, Virginia; Cámara, Montaña

doi:10.1016/j.jff.2020.103896

Cited by 134 publications

(82 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Only those claims based on sound and independent scientific evidence are allowed to be included in food supplements labeling [ 20 , 21 ]. This ensures that all consumers (above all those considered the most vulnerable, e.g., pregnant women) can trust the health benefits claimed by these products and make well-informed food supplement choices [ 22 , 23 , 24 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of Health Claims Related to Folic Acid in Food Supplements for Pregnant Women According to the European Regulation

et al. 2021

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Pregnant women are a vulnerable group with increased nutritional requirements. The daily intake of folic acid, a crucial vitamin for embryonic development, must be reinforced through supplementation, as sometimes diets are not well equilibrated. As consumers increasingly rely on food supplements, it is vital to properly inform them about the health benefits provided by supplements’ consumption to ensure their safe use. The objective of this work was to assess the compliance level of health claims related to folic acid in food supplements commercialized in Spain according to the European regulation. Authors performed (1) a review of health-related claims approved for folic acid in Europe, (2) a market research of food supplements commercialized in Spain with those claims, and (3) a selection of food supplements for chemical analysis in the lab to assess these claims. The results showed that nine health-related claims are currently approved for folic acid in Europe. The analytical results for folic acid content in the selected samples were consistent with the declared values and within the tolerance ranges established in the European Guidance document. All samples included accurate dosages and met the legal requirements (European Regulations 1924/2006, 432/2012, 1169/2011) for all approved claims for folic acid.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of Health Claims Related to Folic Acid in Food Supplements for Pregnant Women According to the European Regulation

et al. 2021

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“…This was critical at the time as, along with an increasing percentage of elderly citizens there was a low birthrate and low immigration rate, placing a heavy burden on the Japanese healthcare system. This was the beginning of the FOSHU system that is established in Japan today [1].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Japan’s health food industry: An analysis of the efficacy of the FOSHU system

Martirosyan¹,

Adany²,

Kanya³

2021

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Health claims and their regulations have been a contended topic globally with varying degrees of standardization. Japan is one of the most advanced countries in terms of their view on the regulation of health claims and their role in the food industry. With the introduction of functional foods in 1984, Japan put health claims to use by informing consumers of specific health benefits of food products marketed and sold to them, while also cutting down on inflated and false claims made by food manufacturers. This was done with the establishment of Foods for Specified Health Uses (FOSHU) a few years later. Although extremely strict and sometimes problematic, the FOSHU system has served as a model of what functional foods could be if given the chance. Regulations in the United States differ in their beliefs that health claims should be approved based on a disease-food relationship rather than on an individual product basis. This, along with the lack of definition for functional foods, leads to a poorly organized health food sector in the United States. FOSHU is highly regarded and well trusted in Japan; so much so that FOSHU products and packaging helps promote non-FOSHU products with similar appearance. Yet, despite the system’s tightly controlled mechanism, its efficacy and comprehensiveness to the average consumer has come under question. Due to tight regulations and the high costs and long wait times of developing FOSHU products, many small businesses find it difficult to apply for them. Subsequently, this trickles down to consumers and inhibits lower-income populations from purchasing these products. Additionally, the effectiveness of FOSHU products outside of a clinical setting has come into question from the scientific community. Factors including poor consumer education regarding FOSHU, as well as clinical settings that do not mimic the daily life of consumers have produced unsatisfactory results in the general public. Keywords: FOSHU, Health Claims, Functional foods, After market research, Clinical setting, functional/active ingredient, FOSHU seal

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“…La regulación del uso de declaraciones de salud ha sido objeto de investigación desde varias perspectivas. Algunos trabajos se han centrado en el estudio del desarrollo, implantación y evolución de esta regulación y/o las distintas metodologías de evaluación utilizadas, incluyendo en algunos casos comparaciones internacionales (v. g. Asp y Bryngelsson, 2008;Sánchez y Casilli, 2008;Gilsenan, 2011;Lalor y Wall, 2011;Tijhuis et al, 2012;Boobis et al, 2013;Hart et al, 2013;Bagchi, 2014;González Díaz et al, 2018;Domínguez Díaz et al, 2020a, 2020b. También se han realizado estudios antropológicos, de enfoque ético y, cada vez más, relativos a las actitudes y percepción de los consumidores (véanse las revisiones de estudios disponibles de Berhaupt-Glickstein y Hallman, 2017; Hieke y Grunert, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionunclassified

Políticas epistémicas y gobernanza. Un análisis comparativo de las regulaciones norteamericana y europea sobre declaraciones de propiedades saludables

2021

Rev. Esp. Cienc. Polít.

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An international regulatory review of food health-related claims in functional food products labeling

Cited by 134 publications

References 17 publications

Assessment of Health Claims Related to Folic Acid in Food Supplements for Pregnant Women According to the European Regulation

Assessment of Health Claims Related to Folic Acid in Food Supplements for Pregnant Women According to the European Regulation

Japan’s health food industry: An analysis of the efficacy of the FOSHU system

Políticas epistémicas y gobernanza. Un análisis comparativo de las regulaciones norteamericana y europea sobre declaraciones de propiedades saludables

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