Nutrition and health claims

What do terms like " sugar-free " " low energy ", " high fibre ", " good for bones ", " calming " etc. really mean ?

These types of expressions are called nutrition and health claims. Their aim is to state, suggest or allow consumers to believe that a food possesses particular nutritional or health properties. As a result, a list has been drawn up of nutritional and health claims authorised for use.

These claims are not enough to say that the product is good or bad for health. A basic principle of nutrition is that there are no "good foods" and "bad foods", but rather "good diets" and "bad diets". All foods can be included in a diet that is varied over the long term.

Nutrition claims

(non-exhaustive list)

relating to  sugar : 

• "low sugar" : the product contains no more than 5g of sugar per 100g or 2.5g per 100ml.

• "sugar-free" : the product contains no more than 0.5g of sugar per 100g or 100 ml.

• "with no added sugars": contains no added mono- or disaccharides or sweeteners.

Useful information:

A food with no added sugars is not necessarily sugar-free, but may still contain naturally occurring sugars. A good example is fruit juice.

relating to fats : 

• " low-fat ": the product contains no more than 3g/100g or 1.5g/100ml of fat.

• "fat-free": the product contains no more than 0.5g of fat per 100g or 100ml.

• " low-saturated fat ": the sum of saturated fatty acids and trans-fatty acids in the product does not exceed 1.5g/100g or 0.75g/100ml and does not provide more than 10% of energy.

relating to  salt : 

• " low sodium/salt ": the product contains no more than 0.12g of sodium, or the equivalent value for salt, per 100g or 100ml.

•  " sodium/salt-free ":  the product contains no more than 0,005g of sodium, or the equivalent value for salt per 100g or 100ml.

• " no added sodium/salt ": the product does not contain any added sodium or salt or any other ingredient containing added sodium or salt and the product contains no more than 0.12g of sodium, or the equivalent value for salt, per 100g or per 100ml. 

relating to  the energy value :

• "low energy": no more than 40 kcal/100g for solids and no more than 20 kcal/100g for liquids.

relating  to fibre : 

• "source of fibre": the product contains at least 3g of fibre per 100g or 1.5g per 100 kcal.

• "high fibre" : the product contains at least 6g of fibre per 100g or 3g per 100 kcal.

relating  to protein : 

• "source of protein": at least 12% of the energy value of the food is provided by protein.

• "high protein" : at least 20% of the energy value of the food is provided by protein.

some other claims : 

• " light" or "reduced" ( name of nutrient): the reduction in the content of the nutrient concerned is at least 30% compared to a similar product. It must be accompanied by an indication of the characteristic(s) which make(s) the food "light".

Health claims

Health claims must be based on scientific evidence proving a link between the substance in question and its effect on health. There is a Community list of claims whose use is permitted for foods. Here are some examples : 

• " Good for bones " : sometimes on foods that are sources of calcium it is stated that calcium contributes to good maintenance of the bones.

• "Magnesium helps reduce tiredness": sometimes found on foods that are a source of magnesium.
  

Front-of-pack labelling (FoP)

 An information sheet concerning additional forms of expression and presentation (FoP) of nutritional value and quantities of nutrients is available on the food safety site.

The Nutri-Score

There is now a new tool to help make food choices, the  Nutri-Score, which you will find on certain food products.

The aim of the  Nutri-Score is to make food labelling easier to read and understand and to allow a comparison between different products in the same category.

Manufacturers can use this score on their product packaging if they wish.

It consists of a 5-colour logo printed on the front of the packaging.

The system uses a letter and a colour code to inform consumers about the nutritional quality of a product. Each product is rated on a 5-level scale ranging:

• from the product most favourable from the nutritional point of view (graded A).
• to the product least favourable from the nutritional point of view (graded E).

A product's score and grade are calculated using a formula that takes account of the following factors:

• nutrients and foods to favour: fibre, protein, fruit and vegetables, legumes and nuts, olive, walnut and rapeseed oil.
• nutrients to limit: calories, saturates, sugars, salt.

The calculation is per 100g or 100ml of product.