Food Product Claims - Overview

Food and food supplement health claims are the statements that link food components to a desired state of health, and food product claims (food labeling claims) are statements or wordings made on a product label/advertising or promotional material to express about the product performance/ usage/indication/application. Both claims convey the health benefits of a product to the consumers. In most countries, there are specific regulations and scientific standards available to make food labeling claims. These should be expressed correctly and are to be substantiated scientifically according to the claim supporting data. These scientific requirements and substantiation can differ based on various factors like the type of claims, health claims, nutrient content claims, functional claims, non-additional claims, or declarations (like Sugar-free, Gluten-free, Low fat) for the product of interest, and country-specific requirements.

In some countries, in order to get a health claim or any other claim approved, one needs to submit the health claim application to the respective Health Authority (HA). HA then verifies the application and supporting documents/literature to authorize the claim on the product label.

Freyr offers consultation on new claims/health claims or defining product label claims based on the formulation, type/list of ingredients, product classification, regulations, and the number of studies/papers available in scientific literature to justify the claims, which is commonly known as “Claims Substantiation.” Also, Freyr’s health claim experts with an in-depth knowledge of Regulatory procedures can assist you with the preparation of the necessary scientific evidence, and food supplements claim substantiation applications.