Health claims 'will be challenge' for probiotics

Probiotic products containing 'friendly' bacteria are now well accepted by consumers in many European countries, but the absence of a common approach to health claims across the EU until now has meant that some markets have been able to make bolder claims on their putative benefits for gut health, immune health, and overall well-being than others. Moreover, there has been no requirement for manufacturers to specify which bacteria their products contain, and in what quantities. But according to nutrition scientist Lisa Miles of the British Nutrition Foundation, the newly-adopted nutrition and health claims legislation will have a significant impact on probiotics, since it will require substantiation of both generic and strain specific properties of bacteria. "Am important component of the legislation is the requirement that claims can only be permitted if the average consumer can be expected to understand the beneficial effects expressed in the claim," wrote Miles in Nutrition Bulletin​. While it could be possible for probiotics to carry a message along the lines of "probiotic bacteria contribute to the normal functioning and healthy microbial balance of the digestive system", more specific strain-dependent health claims are likely to pose more of a challenge. "It is difficult to draw firm conclusions to substantiate health claims, because the strains and dosages used in studies vary greatly," said Miles. In advance of full implementation of the new legislation over the next few years, companies are being encouraged to ensure they have strong science in place for products and ingredients for which they hope to have health claims approved. The legislation entered into force in January, when it was published in the official journal of the EC. There have also been indications that some national bodies have started clamping down on over-egged claims in anticipation of the new EU legislation. For instance, last year the UK's Advertising Standards Agency upheld a complaint about an advertisement for Danone's Actimel probiotic yoghurt that featured a child licking a bus window, on the grounds that it implied the product could help prevent children from catching bacterial infections.