EU Nutrition & Health Claims
Can your food brands benefit from the new era of permitted health claims?
In May 2012, the European Commission published a list of permitted Article 13.1 health claims, as foreseen by EU regulation 1924/2006/EC.
European food and beverage manufacturers now have a clear framework of health claims that can be made for products if they include specific functional ingredients - plus a mixture of rules and guidance on how claims can be communicated to consumers using specific language.
Out of many thousand claims initially submitted, only 222 have been approved by the European Commission as effective and scientifically substantiated, based on scientific opinions from EFSA, the European Food Safety Authority.
After December 2012, products making unapproved claims must be withdrawn from the market—reinforcing the credibility of those that remain on sale.
This new era in ‘proven’ benefit foods will provide a significant opportunity for products that can truly deliver a specific health benefit. To profit from this, manufacturers may need to adapt their communication and marketing strategies by:
- an increased awareness of product composition and its link to the ability to deliver a claimable benefit,
- identifying relevant new formulation opportunities on the basis of the legislation,
- investigating claim wording with local enforcement bodies.
Cargill’s Health & Nutrition capabilities can help your business take full advantage of the new regime. Cargill already has a range of ingredients that can support claims and is working actively in the health and nutrition field to market additional ingredients with demonstrable benefits.
EU Nutrition and Health claims
Art. 13.1 & 14.1
claims
What are Article 13.1 and 14.1 claims?
Article 13.1 health claims encompass growth, development and the functions of the body; psychological and behavioural functions; or slimming/weight-control and related factors such as hunger, satiety and energy reduction.
Article 14.1 claims relate to reduction of disease risk and claims referring to children’s development and health.
Energy
Management
Energy Management
Article 13.1 claim wording required:
1. Carbohydrate-electrolyte solutions contribute to the maintenance of endurance performance during prolonged endurance exercise.
2. Carbohydrate-electrolyte solutions enhance the absorption of water during physical exercise
These Article 13.1 claims add the possibility of an approved claim in the still-growing energy and sports drinks categories.
In order to make the claim, beverages need to fall within a calorie range of 80-350kcal/l whilst also meeting specified standards covering sodium content and osmolality.
Cargill’s C*Dex dextrose can provide the necessary high-glycaemic carbohydrate in powder form to facilitate the claim (75% of the drink’s energy needs to be high-glycaemic) whilst providing a clean label solution. The drink can also benefit from the positive consumer attitudes and sports energy connotations of dextrose on the label.
Heart
Health
Heart Health
Article 13.1 claim wording required:
3. Plant sterols/stanols contribute to the maintenance of normal blood cholesterol levels
This Article 13.1 claim has already been preceded by the Article 14.1 disease reduction claim cited at the bottom of this paragraph and this now completes the regulatory support for such a claim.
This supports the continued development of dairy-based beverages using, for example, Cargill’s CoroWise® ES101 plant sterol powder – a novel form of sterol which allows for smaller and more flexible runs of product while providing the required dosage of sterol without impact on product quality to make the claim.
The claim is supported when delivering a daily intake of at least 0.8 g of plant sterols, easily possible with Corowise®.
Target categories: Dairy-based Beverages, Dairy Shots, Yoghurts, Spreads.
Note: in dairy-based beverage applications delivering higher doses—a daily intake of 1.5-2.4 g plant sterols—CoroWise® also supports the Article 14.1 claim “Plant sterols and plant stanol esters have been shown to lower/reduce blood cholesterol. High cholesterol is a risk factor in the development of coronary heart disease.”
This claim can also be achieved using sterols from the Corowise® range
Blood Glucose
Control
Blood Glucose Control or Management
Article 13.1 claim wording required:
4. Consumption of foods/drinks containing <name of sugar replacer> instead of sugar induces a lower blood glucose rise after their consumption compared to sugar-containing foods/drinks.
By picking from a list of approved sugar alternatives, this claim can be facilitated with the underlying condition that a 30% reduction is made in the level of sugars in the product.
Cargill’s comprehensive sweetness range, which can deliver sweetness but with reduced glycaemic loading, comprising both bulk polyols and high intensity naturally-sourced sweeteners, can be used to formulate products capable of this claim.
Products capable of delivering this benefit include Zerose™, the zero-calorie, digestion-friendly polyol option, our comprehensive mainstream polyol offer covering Maltidex™, C*Sorbidex, C*Mannidex, C*IsoMaltidex and Truvia®, Cargill’s stevia sweetener.
Formulations using these products singly or in combination can support this claim in confectionery, dairy and ice-cream and preserves/fruit preparations.
Oral
Health
Oral Health
Article 13.1 claim wording required:
5. Consumption of foods/drinks containing <name of sugar replacer> instead of sugar contributes to the maintenance of tooth mineralization.
This Article 13.1 claim centers on oral acidity. To meet the claim, a sugar-replaced food or beverage formulation must not lower plaque pH below 5.7 during and up to 30 minutes after consumption. Cargill can help achieve this by carefully tailoring sugar replacers from its polyols portfolio, including zero-calorie Zerose™ erythritol.
Target categories: Hard-boiled Candies, Gums, Tablets, Jellies
6. Sugar-free chewing gum helps reduce tooth demineralization. Tooth demineralization is a risk factor in the development of dental caries.
7. Sugar-free chewing gum helps neutralize plaque acids. Plaque acids are a risk factor in the development of dental caries.
To benefit from these two Article 14.1 claims, consumers must be advised to chew 2-3g of sugar-free gum for at least 20 minutes, at least three times per day after meals. This requires an extended taste experience that helps to ensure gum users chew long enough to benefit.
Formulation example: C*Maltidex™ maltitol, blended with other key Cargill polyols, can be used to create a sugar-free ‘opti-gum’. This crunchy-coated and completely toothfriendly chewing gum provides stability and a clean, sweet taste, all in a good-value product.
Cargill’s wider polyol portfolio also supports chewing gum brands in achieving two additional claims:
8. Sugar-free chewing gum contributes to the reduction of oral dryness. (13.1)
This Article 13.1 claim is only permitted for chewing gum which can be considered officially ‘sugars free’, i.e. containing no more than 0.5 g of sugars per 100 g. Consumers must be informed that the beneficial effect is obtained with use of the chewing gum whenever the mouth feels dry.
9. Sugar-free chewing gum with carbamide neutralizes plaque acids more effectively than sugar-free chewing gum without carbamide.
This Article 13.1 claim is only permitted for chewing gum which can be considered officially ‘sugars free’, i.e. containing no more than 0.5 g of sugars per 100 g. To carry the claim, each piece of sugar-free chewing gum should contain at least 20 mg of carbamide. Consumers must be informed that gum should be chewed for at least 20 minutes after eating or drinking.
Trends
Public health
Across the developed world there has been a rapid increase in obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease – which makes them key areas where health benefits can be brought to consumers.
Diabetes
This is one of the fastest growing diseases in the world today. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 346 million people have diabetes globally. The International Diabetes Federation estimates that in 2011 in Europe 35 million adults had diabetes, with this projected to increase by 23%, to 43 million in 2030.
Obesity
The so called ‘obesity epidemic’ is borne out by the statistics. In 1990 an average of 9% of the population was obese in 15 key Organisation for Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, but by 2009 this had virtually doubled to 17%. (OECD Health at a Glance 2011).
Cardiovascular disease
Cardiovascular diseases are the main cause of mortality in almost all OECD countries, accounting for 35% of all deaths in 2009. Ischemic heart disease, caused by the accumulation of fatty deposits lining the inner wall of a coronary artery, was in itself responsible for 15% of all deaths in OECD countries in 2009.
Health &
Nutrition
Healt and Nutrition at Cargill
Cargill’s Health & Nutrition portfolio is aimed at heart and vascular health, obesity, weight management, tooth friendliness, energy and sugar management, digestive health and general wellness.
Our complete offer includes:
- Branded, proven functional ingredients delivering permitted health and nutritional claims
- In-house formulation capability to create appealing products for the consumer
- In-house regulatory and labelling expertise to position products correctly
- EU-wide scale and scope operating across the entire food matrix
Meeting EU nutritional and health claims
Before the current legislation, there were claims already available, governing the conditions under which general claims relating to reduction of key ingredients or nutrients are permitted.
These often only permit the use of health claims provided meaningful reductions or levels are achieved in nutritional elements, e.g. 30% reduction in calories in order to make the claim that a product is calorie-reduced.
Precise definitions govern use of specific terms.
- Low sugar means no more than 5g of sugars per 100g or 2.5g per 100ml.
- Sugar-free means no more than 0.5g of sugars per 100g or 100ml.
- Low calorie means less than 40 kcal (170 kJ)/100g and less than 20kcal (80kJ)/100ml
- Reduced calorie means energy value must be reduced by at least 30 percent, plus an indication of how the reduced energy value is obtained.
To claim that a product is “light” or “lite” it must meet the “reduced calorie” criteria above, and carry an explanation of which characteristics underpin the reduction.
Cargill’s range of and its can all serve as sugar replacers and reduce calories.
For example, Cargill has developed a prototype calorie-reduced strawberry yoghurt made using Truvia® stevia leaf extract and ZeroseTM erythritol. This tasted creamy, rich and fruity, just like a traditional full-calorie formulation and achieved a more than 30% calorie reduction. A chocolate cream dessert prototype, made using Truvia® stevia leaf extract and C*Maltidex maltitol, has also been produced, achieving a 30% calorie reduction.
Some Cargill products are only approved for use in certain geographies, end uses, and/or at certain usage levels. It is the customer's responsibility to determine, for a particular geography, that (i) the Cargill product, its use and usage levels, (ii) the customer's product and its use, and (iii) any claims made about the customer's product, all comply with applicable laws and regulations.