Using claims on foods can be tricky, and it's important to get them right. We get lots of questions about how to use claims on foods. Here are the ones we get asked most often:
Who sets nutrition claims?
Nutrition claims are established by the Annex of EU Regulation 1926/2006.
Who enforces nutrition claims?
National authorities control the use of claims. If in doubt, you should contact your national authority for advice.
I've heard making claims is risky so have never done it. What are the risks?
The risk is that you might make a claim that doesn’t comply with the legal requirements. There is a risk that you use a non-authorised claim or the claim you use is misleading. It’s important to use only authorised claims and ensure that your product meets the conditions of use. A claim might be considered misleading if you suggest that your food has a special property, when in fact all similar foods share that same property. Health claims should only be made for the nutrient, substance, food or food category for which they have been authorised, and not for the food product that contains them.
Can I place a health claim on my menu, or is it just for labelled products?
You can place a claim on your menu. However, the Regulation on Nutrition and Health Claims applies to all presentation and advertising of the food – including verbal communication! If you are making a claim on your menu, giving a verbal sales pitch or advertising your food, you must ensure that the claims meet the requirements of the Regulation.
Can anyone make claims about their food? What are the common errors when making claims?
Any food business operator can use authorised health claims if the conditions of use and any applicable restrictions are respected. This means that you need to make sure that you choose the correct claim for your product.
Ensure:
- Your product’s nutrition information is calculated correctly
- The nutrient you want to make a claim on is present in an adequate amount. You can’t make the claim if all other similar foods share the same property; for example, you can’t say that your broccoli is ‘low in fat’ because all broccoli is low in fat.
- If using a General Function Health Claim, make sure your product is not marketed to children.
- Only use authorised claims and stay as close to the authorised wording of the claim. If you change it too much, it might be considered misleading.
- You associate a health claim with the appropriate nutrient, substance, food or food category for which they have been authorised, and not for the food product that contains them.
Can you help me / do my nutrition health claims analysis?
Yes, of course! We run a monthly webinar on how to make claims. You can always contact us at support@nutritics.com if you have any specific questions, and we also run a regular advanced recipe calculation course for certification in industry standard recipe calculations.