European Food Watchdog Slashes Dubious Health Claims

BRUSSELS—Do antioxidants prevent premature aging? Do dried plums help maintain normal bowel function? Does lutein help your vision; does chewing sugarless gum prevent plaques; and does fermented whey improve gut health?

The answers: No, no, no, no, and no, according to Europe’s food safety watchdog, which on 25 February issued a scientific mass- verdict on more than 400 so-called health claims, the promises that food producers make on their labels and in advertisements. The opinions come from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), based in Parma, Italy, which also rejected purported health benefits of certain peptides, honey, black and green teas, and a raft of other substances.

The decisions are the latest installment in a gargantuan and controversial effort by EFSA to validate more than 4000 health claims used by the food industry across the continent. More than a year behind schedule, the agency has more than 3000 claims to go—but so far, it has rejected more than 80% of those it has looked at. The food industry may eventually have to stop using those claims.

Science 5 March 2010: Vol. 327. no. 5970, p. 1189

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