Health & nutrition claims

As claims don't have to be proved before a product goes on sale, it's hard for consumers to make an informed choice.

At present, companies in the UK can submit a product for approval only on a voluntary basis, but only a handful of claims have been approved.

And with no curbs on the fat, sugar and salt levels in foods claiming to be healthy, it is also perfectly legal for a manufacturer like Masterfoods to claim that its Milky Way chocolate spread is ‘rich in calcium, magnesium and vitamins’, while failing to flag the fact that it is high in sugar and saturated fat per 100g when compared to guidance from the Food Standards Agency.

Our research shows more than the majority (82 per cent) also believe that manufacturers of a food product should not be able to claim on the pack that it helps control blood pressure to maintain a healthy heart when the product also contains a lot of fat, sugar and/or salt.

New legislation is on its way

In May 2006 Which? scored a major victory when the European Parliament voted to stop misleading health claims on food.

This means that at long last people will be able to buy foods with the confidence that the health claims on the label have been checked. The legislation will be finally agreed by EU Member State governments later this year and will enter into force over the next few years.

The new legislation means:

• All foods that make a new health claim will now have to be checked before they go on sale.
• New health claims will not be allowed on foods high in fat, sugar or salt.
• Nutrition claims such as 'low fat' or 'light' will be clearly defined, so that they mean the same thing wherever they are used.
• Foods that are high in more than one nutrient i.e. fat, sugar or salt will not be allowed to make a nutrition claim. So a food product cannot claim to be low in salt if it is high in both fat and sugar.
• Foods that make a nutrition claim e.g. low in salt, will have to make it clear on the same label if it is also high in fat or sugar.

All new health claims on food products will need to be registered with the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). EFSA will then have five months to check the claim before it is allowed to go on sale.

Foods with disease reduction claims will also have to go through a full authorisation procedure and are exempt from the five month time restriction. This rule also applies to claims made on foods that relate to children's health and development.