'Antioxidants inside': Nutrition or health claim?

By Shane Starling

- Last updated on GMT

Related tags Leatherhead food research Food safety authority Nutrition

Dr Mary Gilsenen, head of regulatory services at Leatherhead Food Research explains why simply using the term ‘antioxidant’ on a product can be a health claim.

Dr Gilsenen spoke to Shane Starling after the NutraIngredients Antioxidants​ 2010 conference in Brussels about how antioxidant marketing is evolving under complex European claims regulations.

“Antioxidants were classified as health claims even though you would think they would be classified as nutrition claims and that’s because of the perceived health benefits associated with antioxidants by consumers,” ​she said.

Prebiotics such as inulin have also been specified by the European Commission as being implied health claims, Gilsenen said.

“It’s potentially a very alarming situation for the food industry,” ​she said whilst observing the market remained buoyant, and until the opinions delivered by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) were written into the lawbooks, antioxidant claims remained permissible.

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1 comment

antioxidants - health claim

Posted by Michael Kourouklaris,

Silly me... I thought the object of antioxidants as additives was to extend product shelf life... sorry, and with all due respects... more scientific claptrap!!! Lets keep food description and labeling as simple as possible.

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