On 5 December, the European Commission (EC) approved a list of permitted “article 13.1claims”. The bill initially contained 240 health claims that are positively assessed by EFSA. The list actually contains only claims for which there was no discussion. This increased the likelihood that the Commission would approve the list. Ultimately the EC approved 222 claims. The rest of the claims was put "on hold" for reconsideration. These claims include, amongst others, claims for which no terms of use are available and claims that require a high level of intake. These “on hold” claims, as well as claims for botanicals, may be used for the time being.
Most of the permitted claims concern vitamins and minerals. Claims about other ingredients are rare. The EC introduced a register containing all approved and rejected claims, including the terms of use or the reason(s) for rejecting them. Health claims that are rejected may not be on the market 6 months after the official publication of the list. It is expected that the list will be published in June 2012. The transitional period of 6 months will start from that moment.
Some facts: The EFSA has assessed 2758 claims, of which 1 out of 5 were positive. From the total of 44,000 cases that have been submitted for approval, only 4637 are considered by EFSA. This reduction of cases is partly due to the wording of the submitted claims and because cases have been withdrawn due to fear for a negative opinion by EFSA.
Eva Rog - den Ouden
Advertising law attorney
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office Emerald House Jozef Israëlskade 48-G Amsterdam, the Netherlands t +31 (0)20 - 305 3066 www.hoogenhaak.nl |
post PO Box 76780 1070 KB Amsterdam e info@hoogenhaak.nl f +31 (0)20 - 305 3069 chamber of commerce 34314579 |
On 5 December, the European Commission (EC) approved a list of permitted “article 13.1claims”. The bill initially contained 240 health claims that are positively assessed by EFSA. The list actually contains only claims for which there was no discussion. This increased the likelihood that the Commission would approve the list. Ultimately the EC approved 222 claims. The rest of the claims was put "on hold" for reconsideration. These claims include, amongst others, claims for which no terms of use are available and claims that require a high level of intake. These “on hold” claims, as well as claims for botanicals, may be used for the time being.
Most of the permitted claims concern vitamins and minerals. Claims about other ingredients are rare. The EC introduced a register containing all approved and rejected claims, including the terms of use or the reason(s) for rejecting them. Health claims that are rejected may not be on the market 6 months after the official publication of the list. It is expected that the list will be published in June 2012. The transitional period of 6 months will start from that moment.
Some facts: The EFSA has assessed 2758 claims, of which 1 out of 5 were positive. From the total of 44,000 cases that have been submitted for approval, only 4637 are considered by EFSA. This reduction of cases is partly due to the wording of the submitted claims and because cases have been withdrawn due to fear for a negative opinion by EFSA.
Eva Rog - den Ouden
Advertising law attorney