Health claims on food labels are claims by manufacturers of food products that their food will reduce the risk of developing a disease or condition. For example, it is claimed by the manufacturers of oat cereals that oat bran can reduce cholesterol, which will lower the chances of developing serious heart conditions. A disease or medical condition is an abnormality of the body or mind that causes discomfort, dysfunction, distress, or death to the person afflicted or those in contact with the person. ... Binomial name Avena sativa Carolus Linnaeus (1753) The Oat (Avena sativa) is a species of cereal grain, and the seeds of this plant. ... // “Grain” redirects here. ... Species References ITIS 41455 2002-09-22 Oats are the seeds of any of several cereal grains in the genus Avena. ... Cholesterol is a sterol (a combination steroid and alcohol) and a lipid found in the cell membranes of all body tissues, and transported in the blood plasma of all animals. ... The heart and lungs, from an older edition of Grays Anatomy. ...

Law in the United States

In the United States, these claims, usually referred to as "qualified health claims", are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration in the public interest. See 21 Code of Federal Regulations § 101.14. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and is responsible for regulating food (humans and animal), dietary supplements, drugs (human and animal), cosmetics, medical devices (human and animal) and radiation emitting devices (including non-medical devices), biologics, and... Public interest is a term used to denote political movements and organizations that are in the public interest—supporting general public and civic causes, in opposition of private and corporate ones (particularistic goals). ...

On July 10, 2003, the Food and Drug Administration announced plans to permit the manufacturers of food products sold in the United States to make health claims on food labels which are supported by less than conclusive evidence. July 10 is the 191st day (192nd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 174 days remaining. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and is responsible for regulating food (humans and animal), dietary supplements, drugs (human and animal), cosmetics, medical devices (human and animal) and radiation emitting devices (including non-medical devices), biologics, and...

The current rule requires "significant scientific consensus" before a claim can be made. The proposed rule, effective September 1, 2003, will permit characterization of health claims using a hierarchy of degrees of certainty: September 1 is the 244th day of the year (245th in leap years). ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... // Relation between uncertainty, probability and risk In his seminal work Risk, Uncertainty, and Profit, Frank Knight (1921) established the important distinction between risk and uncertainty: … Uncertainty must be taken in a sense radically distinct from the familiar notion of Risk, from which it has never been properly separated. ...

• A: "There is significant scientific agreement for [the claim]"
• B: "Although there is some scientific evidence supporting [the claim], the evidence is not conclusive."
• C: "Some scientific evidence suggests [the claim]. However, the F.D.A. has determined that this evidence is limited and not conclusive."
• D: "Very limited and preliminary scientific research suggests [the claim]. The F.D.A. concludes that there is little scientific evidence supporting this claim."

The proposal is being criticized as opening the door to ill-founded claims. Advocates believe it will make more information available to the public.

European Laws

In the United Kingdom, the law requires that any health claim on food labels must be true and not misleading. Food producers may optionally use the Joint Health Claims Initiative to determine whether their claims are likely to be legally sustainable.

In Europe in early 2005 the project PASSCLAIM was ended (Process for the Assessment of Scientific Support for Claims on Foods). The project was sponsored by the European Union and coordinated by ILSI-Europe (http://europe.ilsi.org/). The aim of the PASSCLAIM project was to develop criteria for the scientific substantiation of claims on foods. Several hundreds of scientists from academia, research institutes, government and industry have contributed to the project. All the resulting papers can be downloaded for free from http://europe.ilsi.org/passclaim/. The final consensus paper, comprising the final set of criteria, will be published in June 2005 in the European Journal of Nutrition. For the scientific journal named Science, see Science (journal). ...

An overview about the current and future situations on health claims in the European Union including proposals, press releases and memos can be found at the website of the European Commission at http://ec.europa.eu/food/food/labellingnutrition/claims/index_en.htm. The European Commission (formally the Commission of the European Communities) is the executive body of the European Union. ...

See also

• Functional food

Functional food or medicinal food is any fresh or processed food claimed to have a health-promoting and/or disease-preventing property beyond the basic nutritional function of supplying nutrients, although there is no consensus on an exact definition of the term. ...

External links

• FDA's website on qualified health claims
• New York Times article, "Looser Rules Proposed for Health Claims on Food Labels"
• UK Food Standards Agency advice
• UK Food Labelling Regulations 1996
• Process for the Assessment of Scientific Support for Claims on Foods
• Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada
• Nutraceuticals