Health claims still on the agenda
In 2006 the Nordic Innovation Centre (NICe) granted funding for the project ACCLAIM, as part of the Functional Food programme. The project, which contemplated consumer acceptance and trust in health claims, finished more than a year ago. Still the project’s participants continue to work on the topic: Now they have published two new articles presenting updated results.
An increasing number of foods sold in the Nordic region, as well as the EU, bear nutrition and health claims. A nutrition claim states or suggests that a food has beneficial nutritional properties, such as “low fat”, “no added sugar” and “high in fibre”. A health claim is any statement on labels, marketing or advertising that health benefits can result from consuming a given food, for instance that a food can help reinforce the body’s natural defences or enhance learning ability (European Food Safety Authority).
Health claims are still topical today with the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) producing opinions on the scientific evidence behind claims. The requirements for successful claim applications are becoming clearer, yet there are also open questions left to answer.
Consumer acceptance and trust: Recommendations for using health-related claims in marketing: ACCLAIM is a research project that studied how consumers perceive health claims, since consumer understanding is one of the prerequisites in acceptance of claims in the EU legislation.
The objective of this research project was to develop a shared Nordic view among stakeholders on how health claims should be used in marketing of food products in the Nordic countries. This is done on the basis of review on previous practices, consumer study providing systematic scientific data on consumer perception of claim, and stakeholder workshops. The emphasis is on ensuring consumer understanding of the claims when interpreting the regulations in different Nordic countries.
The project was funded by Nordic Innovations Centre (NICe), as part of the Functional Food programme, launched in 2006. The six Nordic projects' - constituting NICe’s programme - common goal has been to support the Nordic food industry in becoming more innovative and competitive in the Functional food market.
Two new articles on Health Claims
Although the ACCLAIM project finished more than a year ago, the work on the data has not ceased.
Now, the project’s participants have produced two scientific articles accepted by publishers. One on the perception of claims showing that consumers can be divided into two major groups based on their perception of claims. Some consumers prefer more information and some are pleased with the outcome benefit. The article was published in Journal of Consumer Policy. To read more about the article and how to download it, please visit the publisher’s website. The other article studies the impact of health claims on other product attributes, and has been accepted to Food Policy.
EFSA and EU framework
EU decision makers adopted a Regulation on the use of nutrition and health claims for foods in December 2006. This Regulation lays down harmonised EU-wide rules for the use of health or nutritional claims on foodstuffs based on nutrient profiles.
One of the key objectives of this Regulation is to ensure that any claim made on a food label in the EU is clear and substantiated by scientific evidence. EFSA is responsible for verifying the scientific substantiation of the submitted claims, some of which are currently in use, some of which are proposed by applicants. This information serves as a basis for the European Commission and Member States, which will decide whether to authorise the claims (EFSA).
Relaterte prosjekter og rapporter: (2)An increasing number of foods sold in the Nordic region, as well as the EU, bear nutrition and health claims. A nutrition claim states or suggests that a food has beneficial nutritional properties, such as “low fat”, “no added sugar” and “high in fibre”. A health claim is any statement on labels, marketing or advertising that health benefits can result from consuming a given food, for instance that a food can help reinforce the body’s natural defences or enhance learning ability (European Food Safety Authority).
Health claims are still topical today with the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) producing opinions on the scientific evidence behind claims. The requirements for successful claim applications are becoming clearer, yet there are also open questions left to answer.
Consumer acceptance and trust: Recommendations for using health-related claims in marketing: ACCLAIM is a research project that studied how consumers perceive health claims, since consumer understanding is one of the prerequisites in acceptance of claims in the EU legislation.
The objective of this research project was to develop a shared Nordic view among stakeholders on how health claims should be used in marketing of food products in the Nordic countries. This is done on the basis of review on previous practices, consumer study providing systematic scientific data on consumer perception of claim, and stakeholder workshops. The emphasis is on ensuring consumer understanding of the claims when interpreting the regulations in different Nordic countries.
The project was funded by Nordic Innovations Centre (NICe), as part of the Functional Food programme, launched in 2006. The six Nordic projects' - constituting NICe’s programme - common goal has been to support the Nordic food industry in becoming more innovative and competitive in the Functional food market.
Two new articles on Health Claims
Although the ACCLAIM project finished more than a year ago, the work on the data has not ceased.
Now, the project’s participants have produced two scientific articles accepted by publishers. One on the perception of claims showing that consumers can be divided into two major groups based on their perception of claims. Some consumers prefer more information and some are pleased with the outcome benefit. The article was published in Journal of Consumer Policy. To read more about the article and how to download it, please visit the publisher’s website. The other article studies the impact of health claims on other product attributes, and has been accepted to Food Policy.
EFSA and EU framework
EU decision makers adopted a Regulation on the use of nutrition and health claims for foods in December 2006. This Regulation lays down harmonised EU-wide rules for the use of health or nutritional claims on foodstuffs based on nutrient profiles.
One of the key objectives of this Regulation is to ensure that any claim made on a food label in the EU is clear and substantiated by scientific evidence. EFSA is responsible for verifying the scientific substantiation of the submitted claims, some of which are currently in use, some of which are proposed by applicants. This information serves as a basis for the European Commission and Member States, which will decide whether to authorise the claims (EFSA).
ACCLAIM - Consumer acceptance and trust: Recommendation for using health related claims in marketing Nordic Functional Food - A healthy choiceRelaterte artikler (1):
Nordic consumers and health claims in marketing
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