The Prevalence and Compliance of Health Claims Used in the Labelling and Information for Prepacked Foods within Great Britain

In the EU and Great Britain (GB), all health claims (HCs) on food must be authorised before use and should comply with Regulation 1924/2006. In GB, all HCs, authorised or not, are listed in the Great Britain Nutrition and Health Claims Register. This study reviews the prevalence and compliance of HC...

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Main Authors: Emma Coates, Kristina Pentieva, Hans Verhagen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-02-01
Series:Foods
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/13/4/539
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author Emma Coates
Kristina Pentieva
Hans Verhagen
author_facet Emma Coates
Kristina Pentieva
Hans Verhagen
author_sort Emma Coates
collection DOAJ
description In the EU and Great Britain (GB), all health claims (HCs) on food must be authorised before use and should comply with Regulation 1924/2006. In GB, all HCs, authorised or not, are listed in the Great Britain Nutrition and Health Claims Register. This study reviews the prevalence and compliance of HCs on prepacked foods sold within three GB supermarkets and via their grocery shopping websites. In June 2023, food labels and online product information of 440 products were evaluated across three food categories—dairy and dairy alternatives; fruit juices, fruit juice drinks and fruit smoothies; and teas and infusions. In store, 26.3% of products carried an HC and 28.3% online. The prevalence of HCs was higher when compared with data from 2016. Overall compliance was high, in store (94.3%) and online (90.0%), with no statistically significant difference in overall HC compliance between in store and online products (<i>p</i> = 0.724). The HC violations observed in the present study were due to non-compliant wording of HCs or use of non-authorised HCs. This study demonstrates changes in the HC landscape and the need for continued monitoring of the prevalence and compliance of HCs as consumer trends alter.
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spelling doaj.art-696485a6305b4e86bfd01a6b4e2253c32024-02-23T15:16:20ZengMDPI AGFoods2304-81582024-02-0113453910.3390/foods13040539The Prevalence and Compliance of Health Claims Used in the Labelling and Information for Prepacked Foods within Great BritainEmma Coates0Kristina Pentieva1Hans Verhagen2School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Life and Health Sciences, Ulster University, Coleraine BT52 1SA, UKSchool of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Life and Health Sciences, Ulster University, Coleraine BT52 1SA, UKSchool of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Life and Health Sciences, Ulster University, Coleraine BT52 1SA, UKIn the EU and Great Britain (GB), all health claims (HCs) on food must be authorised before use and should comply with Regulation 1924/2006. In GB, all HCs, authorised or not, are listed in the Great Britain Nutrition and Health Claims Register. This study reviews the prevalence and compliance of HCs on prepacked foods sold within three GB supermarkets and via their grocery shopping websites. In June 2023, food labels and online product information of 440 products were evaluated across three food categories—dairy and dairy alternatives; fruit juices, fruit juice drinks and fruit smoothies; and teas and infusions. In store, 26.3% of products carried an HC and 28.3% online. The prevalence of HCs was higher when compared with data from 2016. Overall compliance was high, in store (94.3%) and online (90.0%), with no statistically significant difference in overall HC compliance between in store and online products (<i>p</i> = 0.724). The HC violations observed in the present study were due to non-compliant wording of HCs or use of non-authorised HCs. This study demonstrates changes in the HC landscape and the need for continued monitoring of the prevalence and compliance of HCs as consumer trends alter.https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/13/4/539health claimsfoodscomplianceRegulation 1924/2006
spellingShingle Emma Coates
Kristina Pentieva
Hans Verhagen
The Prevalence and Compliance of Health Claims Used in the Labelling and Information for Prepacked Foods within Great Britain
Foods
health claims
foods
compliance
Regulation 1924/2006
title The Prevalence and Compliance of Health Claims Used in the Labelling and Information for Prepacked Foods within Great Britain
title_full The Prevalence and Compliance of Health Claims Used in the Labelling and Information for Prepacked Foods within Great Britain
title_fullStr The Prevalence and Compliance of Health Claims Used in the Labelling and Information for Prepacked Foods within Great Britain
title_full_unstemmed The Prevalence and Compliance of Health Claims Used in the Labelling and Information for Prepacked Foods within Great Britain
title_short The Prevalence and Compliance of Health Claims Used in the Labelling and Information for Prepacked Foods within Great Britain
title_sort prevalence and compliance of health claims used in the labelling and information for prepacked foods within great britain
topic health claims
foods
compliance
Regulation 1924/2006
url https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/13/4/539
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