YOUR OPINION

Are nuts fattening?

• Yes
• No
• I don’t know

 

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has recently organized a technical meeting with stakeholders on recent developments related to health claims. The INC participated in the meeting, held in Parma, June 1st, 2010, represented by Dr. Cameon Ivarsson, member of the Scientific and Government Affairs Committee.

The objective of the meeting was to provide an update on EFSA’s health claims evaluations and to have an exchange of views between experts from food industry, Member States, European Commission, NDA Panel members and EFSA staff.

Claims linked to nuts:

ID No. Linked to Deadline for assessment 1129 Nuts and heart health 31 December 2011 1130 Nuts and weight management 31 December 2011 1131 Almonds 31 December 2011 1294 Peanuts, peanut butter and oil 31 December 2011

Source: ESA

EFSA Favourable Health Claim Evaluations to Date:

Food/constituent Health relationship Vitamins, minerals Cardiovascular, brain, gut, immune, bone, dental, antioxidant, metabolism Protein, carbohydrate Muscle, bone, energy Fatty acids Brain, cardiovascular, vision Fibre(s) Gut, cardiovascular Others substances –phytosterols/stanols, chewing gum, meal replacements, tomato extract Cardiovascular, dental, weight management

Source: ESA

As reported in the last EFSA Stakeholder Consultative Platform meeting, the next publication of EFSA opinions on health claims is foreseen for September 2010, while the deadline for the evaluation of all submitted claims is set for December 2011.

The information about the meeting and all presentations are available at:
www.efsa.europa.eu