FOOD LAW AND POLICY

Food Law and Policy

Food Law and Policy

Introduction

What is a health claim?

A health claim is one indication utilized on the tags on the products on the market or in advertising that says that taking a particular foodstuff or through single of its constituents for instance minerals and vitamins, bacteria "probiotics", and fiber can have benefits for health. There are various sorts of claims for health. For example, claims that a foodstuff could facilitate to strengthen the natural defenses of body or facilitate the capability to learn are known "general function". Or the applications about reducing the risk of contracting an illness, or the statements of nutrients or other change that could perk up or otherwise adjust the typical functioning of our body, such as "Plant sterols have been revealed to decrease ranks of cholesterol, a threatening element for the increase of coronary heart disease "or" Football can facilitate increase concreteness of bone.”

What is nutrition?

A nutrition request utters or proposes that a foodstuff contains specific advantageous dietetic characteristics. Typical cases take in claims such as "low fat", "source of omega-3" or "high in fiber".

What are the nutritional profiles?

The law on claims for health and nutrition made on foodstuffs involves that products demeanor meet certain requirements in the field of nutrition (the so-called "nutrient profiles"). Why are likely to boast of such claims, the food must meet these conditions. The profiles will assist to make sure that consumer who uses the information to move towards choices of healthy diet, and they can recognize food demeanor as containing a diet or wellbeing, are not deluded with respect to the general dietary significance. The “European Commission” and associated nations will launch a structure for the setting of nutrient profiles and determine the profiles for foods bearing nutrition and health claims in the light of EFSA's scientific advice.

Food Labeling

The issue of “nutrition and health claims” in the tagging and publicity of foodstuffs has long dealt with at EU level. The need to guard the customer from confusing information regarding the nutritional and health benefits of a food and to establish a proper relationship between the companies in the commercial sector, avoiding unequal conditions of competition and the need to harmonize legislation in order to allow a suitable carrying out of the domestic marketplace, led the “European Parliament” and the Council to legislate by adopting Regulation (EC) n. 1924/2006, effective from 1 July 2007.

Already Directive 2000/13/EC, implemented in Italy by Legislative Decree no. 181/2003, which amended the Legislative Decree no. 109/1992 on the labeling, appearance and promotion of products, has, as mentioned in the 3rd recital of the Regulation, in general, prohibited the utilization of data that would misinform the procurer or aspect therapeutic characteristics to foods.

In particular, the art 2 of Legislative Decree 109/1992 as replaced by the Legislative Decree n. 181/2003 provides the purpose of labeling as under:

1. The labeling and methods used are designed to ensure the correct and transparent information to ...