The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) yesterday called on food manufacturers to submit scientific evidence to back up health claims on food products sold in Ireland.
Dr Mary Flynn, chief specialist in public health nutrition at the FSAI, urged all food businesses that wish to continue using health claims on food products to submit the scientific evidence behind these claims to the FSAI for approval as part of a new EU regulatory process.
"Claims made on foods must be clear and understandable by the consumer," said Dr Flynn.
"Claims that exaggerate a food's expected health benefits or are not adequately substantiated with scientific evidence will no longer be permitted," she said.
According to Dr Flynn, the regulations will mean that consumers will be able to make informed food choices based on accurate information.
"It will protect people from being misled about the health benefits of food products," she said.
Under the new EU regulations (Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006), the FSAI is responsible for compiling a list of health claims made in Ireland eligible to be considered for an EU list.
This list will then be assessed by the European Food Safety Authority alongside lists compiled by other member states.
Current estimates suggest that there are up to 1,000 foods carrying health claims on sale in Ireland.
Health claims made on food supplements also come under the new nutrition and health claims regulations.
Under the regulations, nutritional claims such as low fat, high fibre or rich in calcium will be examined both to validate whether the claim is accurate (legal definitions for low fat, high fibre, etc already exist) and also to check whether the nutrient is bio-available (is present in a form the body can use).
The overall nutritional content of the food will also be looked at and if, for example, the product is low in fat but high in sugar, the label on the food must mention both aspects with equal prominence.
Claims relating to children's health and development will come under particular scrutiny.
"The food industry has known that this legislation was on the way and there has been an explosion in the number of health claims made in the last two years," said Dr Flynn.
Food businesses must submit their claims and scientific data to the FSAI via an online application form (www.fsai.ie) before September 28th.
"We welcome the launch of the FSAI web-based consultation on health claims," said a spokesman for the Food and Drink Industry Ireland.
"The approval of health claims will now require scientific substantiation at European level which will create a level playing pitch across the EU for our export-oriented food and drink industry," he said.
The FSAI list of health claims will be submitted to the European Commission by January 31st, 2008. Any health claims not included on this national list must then be removed from products on sale in Ireland.
The final list of claims on the EU list will be the only health claims allowed on food products from January 31st, 2010 onwards.