Nutrition and Health Claims (England) Regulations 2007
House of Lords
Lord Gordon of Strathblane (Labour)
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the rejection by the European institutions of over 95 per cent of health claims submitted for approval in accordance with the provisions of the Nutrition and Health Claims (England) Regulations 2007 is consistent with the conclusion of the regulatory impact assessment of the regulations that "most claims are expected to be authorised under the Article 13 process" and that "the Commission and European industry representatives foresee most claims on the market as eligible for this list".
Earl Howe (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Quality), Health; Conservative)
The conclusions drawn in the 2007 regulatory impact assessment were informed by data from the United Kingdom food industry. So far around 20 per cent of article 13 health claims have received a positive opinion from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), but many claims are pending further consideration (e.g. probiotics and botanicals) and so the final number of claims to be authorised is unknown. EFSA has undertaken rigorous scientific assessments of the highest possible standards in accordance with the requirements of the European Community regulation on nutrition and health claims.