EFSA health claim opinion
White kidney bean extract fails to win blood sugar-weight loss claim
Belgian firm Ecopharma – which could not be contacted for comment today – submitted the article 13.5 claim under the EU nutrition and health claims regulation (NHCR) that contained four clinical pieces of research conducted between 1987 and 2009.
“From the information provided in the application, including the four human studies submitted for substantiation, the Panel could not establish whether the claim refers to (i) a reduction in post-prandial blood glucose responses; (ii) a (long-term) maintenance of normal blood glucose concentrations; or (iii) body weight, e.g. a reduction in body fat/body weight,” wrote EFSA’s Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA).
“Therefore, the applicant was requested to specify the claimed effect, i.e. the beneficial physiological effect, which is the subject of the application. The applicant did not reply to this request.”
The company website was not functioning today.
The application related to Ecopharma’s extract called Fabenol Max - an aqueous extract from Phaseolus. vulgaris L.
Ecopharma proposed that 350 mg of the extract consumed with a carbohydrate-rich meal could promote ‘healthy blood sugar levels’ and ‘optimal body composition’ up to a daily dose of 700 mg.
The opinion is here.
