Americas 1787

Relief shown pictorially. Prime meridian: Ferro. Colored outline. Includes illustrated cartouche, notes and inset map "Carte des nouvelles decouvertes." In French.Color1:25,000,00

Health claims in Europe: new legislation and PASSCLAIM for substantiation.

A regulation on nutrition and health claims made on foods was introduced in the European Union in 2007. This Regulation provides opportunities for the use of health claims on foods in Europe, including reduction of disease risk claims. The Regulation will be fully implemented by January 2010. A community list of permitted and rejected claims will be established and made available to the public. Some European countries have applied voluntary codes of practice on health claims for foods, awaiting the Regulation. Experience with scientific evaluation and use of health claims has been gained using these codes with regard to both generic claims that are closely related to official nutrition recommendations and to product-specific claims based on human intervention studies with the product. The European Commission supported a concerted action project, "Process for the Assessment of Scientific Support for Claims on Foods" (PASSCLAIM). This project reviewed the scientific state of the art in diet and health areas regarded most likely for health claims. The main purpose of the PASSCLAIM project was to define a set of generally applicable criteria for the scientific substantiation of health claims. These criteria were considered to be a scientifically robust tool for evaluating the quality of the data submitted in support of health claims on foods. PASSCLAIM is useful in assisting applicants for a health claim to prepare their supporting dossiers as well as in aiding agencies responsible for evaluating the scientific evidence for the claim

Evidence for health claims: A perspective from the Australia-New Zealand region

Establishing the evidence for health claims involves reviewing the available body of scientific knowledge and linking this to statements meaningful to consumers. This requires an understanding of scientific merit as well as consumer perceptions of health messages. Food Standards Australia New Zealand sets standards for current nutrient content claims and is close to approving a proposed new framework for all forms of nutrition and health claims on foods. This article discusses this proposed health claims standard in light of the challenges health claims pose to nutrition science. It critically describes the framework for the standard, reviews issues related to substantiation of claims, and provides commentary on the proposed assessment of evidence. This spectrum of permission reflects the use of food in health promotion, disease prevention, and early disease management when therapeutic agents may not be required. The position is consistent with an understanding that food delivers nutrients and bioactive substances at levels that support the improved health of the human organism in the early stages of the health-disease spectrum. Increasing knowledge of the role of food components and its intelligent application in dietary modification can result in this strategy playing a major role in disease prevention and early disease management. The amount of evidence required to enable health claim labeling should be based on a reasonable judgment and clear understanding of the role of nutrition in health and disease