Abstract

Nutrition and health claims made on food and food supplements are subject to European legislation which aims to protect the EU consumer from misleading or inaccurate claims used in labelling, marketing or advertising of food, but also to allow the food industry to use truthful and scientifically substantiated claims as a competitive marketing tool. This article provides historical background for the development of the EU Nutrition and Health Claims Regulation, describes the EU system of scientific assessment and authorisation of the claims, and also the on-going political debate with regard to health claims on plant substances, so called ‘botanicals’.