BERLIN—Opinions vary regarding the 13.1 health claims evaluation, but the , European trade association European Federation of Associations of Health Product Manufacturers (EHPM) said a two-day food supplement conference in Berlin last week opened opportunities for more dialogue among academics, scientists, authorities and the food supplement sector.
EHPM said the event highlighted the still hugely diverging opinions on the interpretation of the EU Nutrition and Health Claims Regulation’s claims assessment requirements, but welcomed the invitation from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) for more dialogue to take place involving the different interested bodies.
The event focused on health claims, with issues raised by representatives of the European food supplement industry regarding the discrepancy in understanding of recital 26 of the regulation, which states that article 13.1 claims should undergo a different assessment to article 13.5 and 14 claims.
Professor David Richardson, scientific adviser to the UK Council for Responsible Nutrition and speaker at the event, stressed the regulation’s reference to assessment based on the totality of the available data, highlighting that the legislation requires an assessment of the weight of the evidence and the "extent to which" the cause and effect can be assessed, a procedure that many in the food sector have argued has not been followed for article 13.1 claims.
“The reference to the ‘extent to which’ a cause and effect can be assessed is to me an assessment of whether it is strong, moderate or weak," Richardson said. “This type of assessment is helpful for regulators too, as it is a thorough basis upon which they can base their decisions. However, EFSA requires conclusive evidence. This is a challenge for the scientific community as a whole, because to get conclusive evidence of anything is very difficult."
EHPM agreed, reiterating its argument for EFSA to assess the strength, consistency and biological plausibility of the evidence in a similar way to the diet and health relationships assessed by the World Health Organization and the World Cancer Research Fund.
EHPM recently submitted a complaint to the European ombudsman arguing that the assessment of article 13.1 claims is not in accordance with the requirements of the EU Nutrition and Health Claims Regulation.
