Charity approvals help health foods stand out on the shelf
consumers to the health benefits of their products in the absence
of clearly defined health claims regulations.
Recent research from two separate market analysts - Datamonitor and AC Nielsen - has highlighted the problems for marketers when trying to sell foods with health benefits.
Both surveys concluded that the main reason why consumers did not buy functional foods was because they do not believe in the health benefits.
With a lack of clearly defined rules on making health claims in Europe, firms are finding it difficult to stand out from competitors making similar references to antioxidant content, high calcium levels or wellness boosting.
As a result, an increasing number of food companies are looking for third-party endorsement for their health claims from charities.
Gerber Foods, distributor of Welch's purple grape juice in the UK, said this week that the product has been approved by the heart health charity Heart UK, and will carry the body's logo on its packaging.
The same charity has also recently endorsed the pomegranate juice brand Pomegreat, and a tomato juice made by Provexis entering the market next year.
To use the charity's logo, companies must submit the evidence of their health benefits to independent scientists commissioned by the charity.
Director Michael Livingston told NutraIngredients.com: "We emphasise approval rather than endorsement. Our criteria is to create a partnership, where we look at ways in which we can work for up to three years mutually."
He added that for every one approval, "there is probably 30 that fall by the wayside".
Welch's Purple Grape Juice has been tested in a number of studies for its antioxidant properties and role in promoting heart health. The research has found that drinking the Concord grape juice may slow the oxidation of LDL cholesterol. And further evidence suggests that it leads to healthier arteries.
Food companies clearly benefit from a third-party approval of their science.
Fiona Vigar, marketing director of Provexis, said: "We found that there are an awful lot of products making statements about what foods do. In consumer research, people said it would be reassuring to hear from a third party."
While Livingston underlined that Heart UK's approval process has to be ethical, there is a cost involved in collaborating with the charity. This clearly gives commercial advantage, not only to those products with scientific research to support them, but also those with the resources to seek a third-party approval.
European regulations on health claims, currently in draft form, initially sought to ban the use of all endorsements but the European Council's common position, published in mid-November, proposes to take endorsements by health-related charities and national medical associations out of the European legislatory process, making national authorities responsible for overseeing such claims.
Endorsements by inidividual doctors or health professionals would still be prohibited under article 11 of the law, however.
