Nutrition and Health Claims Proposal - Latest Developments

Originally published August 2005

On 16 July 2003, the European Commission published a proposal for a Regulation on nutrition and health claims (the "proposed Regulation"). The aim of the proposed Regulation is to ensure that consumers are better informed and to replace the different national provisions relating to such claims with common provisions at Community level. Under the proposed Regulation certain nutrition claims and health claims would be banned including health claims on beverages containing more than 1.2% by volume of alcohol. The proposed Regulation also contains provisions to allow in the future the banning or restricting of the use of nutrition or health claims on additional foods or categories of foods. In addition, set out in the proposed Regulation is the criteria with which permitted claims would have to comply.