26/03/2010

On 26 March 2010, Roberto Sabrido, President of the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (AESAN), met with leaders of the Spanish Association of Physicians (OMC), led by its President, Dr Juan José Rodríguez Sendín. Also present at the meeting, which took place at the AESAN headquarters, were Ana Troncoso, Executive Director of AESAN, and Rosa Sanchidrián, Deputy Director General for Risk Management, as well as the Vice-President, General Secretary and the General Vice-Secretary of the OMC. The reason for the meeting was, amongst other issues of interest for the medical profession, to explain the work being carried out by AESAN and the European Union with regard to health claims on food products, as set out under European Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 on Nutrition and Health Claims. AESAN’s current application of the Regulation within Spain was outlined and its importance for citizens analysed, given the increasingly complex information available on certain food products with direct implications for health.

In this context there followed an analysis of any repercussions that this will have on health services due to possible interactions with certain drugs, as well their possible substitution. In this respect a collaborative agreement was reached in order to maintain close contacts between the OMC and AESAN in order to promote information and training for health professionals in this area.

Also discussed during the meeting was the draft Food Safety and Nutrition Bill, specifically its ban on health professionals and their associations or federations from supporting any kind of commercial promotion or advertising for food and drink aimed at the general public.

In this respect the OMC representatives showed their total agreement with the proposed draft bill, agreeing with AESAN that this type of backing from the health profession is perceived by consumers as proof of the health benefits of the promoted product, even though there may be others on the market which are exactly the same but which do not have the same support.

Also discussed, in general terms, were the shared concerns regarding the prevalence of obesity and overweight, especially in children and young people, as well as the need for better collaboration in implementing preventative measures in this area.

Declarations

The said regulation establishes the procedures which the food industry must follow with regard to making or publishing statements saying that a food product contains certain health properties – known as “declarations” or “claims”. These claims include, for instance, descriptions such as “fat-free”, “rich in vitamins”, “no added sugar” or “light”, amongst others. Technological advances meant that measures were necessary to guarantee, at EU level, that these claims are made based on real scientific evidence and not misleading or exaggerated messages without sufficient scientific basis.

During the meeting with the representatives from the medical profession, the AESAN President outlined the work being carried out in this field by his organisation, so that they might have first-hand information, given the continuous endorsement of food items which may be contained in these declarations and in view of the possibility that patients may ask their doctors for information.

The Regulation, as already explained, includes three types of declaration, each one with its own requirements.

• The so-called “nutrition” or “content” claims, which are those which state, suggest or imply that a food product has particular beneficial nutritional properties due to its energy content (calorific value) or the nutrients or other substances which it may or may not contain (for example, “low-calorie, salt or sugar” or “rich in vitamins, fibre or proteins”).
• The “health claims”, which are those that imply that a relationship exists between a food category, a food or one of its constituents and health. Advertising is full of examples of this type of declaration which refer to foods which, because they contain a certain ingredient, are good for our natural defences or improve our health or reduce cholesterol.
• “Disease risk reduction claims”, which are those which state that the consumption of a food or one of its constituents significantly reduces a risk factor for the development of a disease (for example, adverts or food labels which state that it lowers the risk of heart disease or stroke).