Food Companies Guilty Of Misleading People With Health Claims, Says Which?

Main Category: Nutrition / Diet
Article Date: 02 Oct 2009 - 23:00 PDT

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As the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) publishes its assessment on many of the health claims * made by food products, Which? chief policy adviser, Sue Davies, says:

"A huge number of food products claim to have health benefits, but finally we are separating the wheat from the chaff. Incredibly, only a third of health claims looked at by EFSA could be backed up.

"Clearly many food companies are exploiting people's interest in improving their health, often over-charging them for alleged health benefits which can't be proved.

"On a more positive note, there are foods using proven health claims, so it's vital that industry acts responsibly when making claims, and that the Food Standards Agency ensures the removal of misleading products. Only then can people be confident that the health claims on items they buy are genuine."

Notes

* The European Food Safety Authority has assessed over 500 claims and its opinions will now go to the Commission and member states for approval. A list of approved claims will then be developed. The EFSA will also be assessing further claims. Among the health claims assessed were those found on popular pro-biotics.

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