Warning over misleading food labels
Functional foods claiming to lower cholesterol or help achieve good health must not mislead consumers, it was warned today.
A new leaflet from the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has highlighted the legal requirements for functional foods to be accurately and legitimately labelled.
“There is now a proliferation of foods making claims in relation to nutrition or health benefits, with many more in the pipeline, and this leaflet will assist the industry to understand the legal parameters currently governing such products and any claims made,” Dr Pat O’Mahony, a biotechnology expert with the FSAI, said.
“Food labels cannot refer to the prevention or potential cure of a disease, as this would in effect place them in the category of medicines, regulated by the Irish Medicines Board.”
The FSAI said functional foods, which possess characteristics that can help achieve or maintain good health, now accounted for a major market in the US and Japan.
There is a major emphasis in Ireland on research and development of value added foods, such as probiotics, and it is estimated the functional food market is expanding by 20% a year.
The FSAI said it was working to ensure the labelling was correct and that any health claims do not mislead consumers.
Dr O’Mahony said many food companies were investing considerable resources in developing functional foods but were largely unaware of the significant regulatory hurdles to be overcome before they could be placed on the market.
He warned that all products bearing a health or nutrition claim must be supported by appropriate scientific or clinical evidence.
New legislation is being developed at EU level to harmonise the rules governing the nature and extent of nutrition and health claims associated with food.
Dr O’Mahony said the legislation would clarify many issues to do with health and nutrition claims, but in the meantime, this area is governed by existing food legislation.
