Health Claims on the Efficacy of Botanicals in the EU 

In the European Union, health claims on botanical nutraceuticals are strictly regulated by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) under Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 on nutrition and health claims made on foods.  

• Health claims must be based on scientific evidence and undergo a rigorous evaluation process by the EFSA before they can be used in marketing.  
• The products must be adequately labelled to protect consumer health and create equal competitive conditions for those in the food industry. 
• To substantiate that the nutritional claims are genuine, the product consumed should be available in the body to exert the desired effect. 
• The health claims made on a product should be exclusive to the product and never compare with that of a competitor product. 

• The claims made on a product must be easy to understand by the consumer and must not mislead them [1].   

The EFSA is a regulatory body that validates the scientific evidence for the effect claimed, which includes the study quality, the effect size and the relevance of the findings to the target audience. Finally, the EFSA has also established a list of approved health claims for use on food products, including several health claims for botanicals, such as claims related to their antioxidant properties or their effects on cardiovascular health. 

The Food Research Lab helps formulate nutraceutical products and ensure they comply with the regulations, making them successful in the market.