Supplement specific: Calcium, vitamin D and osteoporosis
The claim:“Calcium and vitamin D help to reduce the loss of bone mineral in post-menopausal women. Low bone mineral density is a risk factor for osteoporotic bone fractures.”
The conditions: Food supplements providing at least 400mg of calcium and 15μg of vitamin D per daily portion. Target audience is women 50 years and over and the beneficial effect is obtained with a daily intake of at least 1,200mg of calcium and 20μg of vitamin D from all sources.
Written in by the Commission at the end of November following an application by German firm Abtei Pharma Vertriebs, who originally looked to make a claim specific to chewable tablets. Whilst the claim’s conditions don’t mention the tablet format, the Health Food Manufacturers' Association (HFMA) did say this now meant there were three health claims specific to food supplements. “Unlike general health claims, these apply to food supplements only,” Graham Keen, HFMA’s executive director, said.
Eric Chappuis, director of consulting for Naturalpha, also said this was one of the most impactful authorisations of the year.
