Eu Mandate That Claimed Health Benefits Of Foods Need Scientific Verification

[LazyGun]

From the article
"Will a daily probiotic yogurt improve your immune defences? And will cooking with olive oil boost the levels of ‘good’ cholesterol in your blood?"

From later this year, health claims such as these will need to be substantiated with scientific evidence if the manufacturers wish to persist with such statements, which is good news.

I, for one, am looking forward to seeing the body of evidence to support the health benefits of a daily probiotic yoghurt drink... :)

http://www.nature.com/news/culture-shock-1.12158

[jackthehat]

I think many people are suckered-in because they believe (wrongly) that all of this marketing 'puff' has been legally/medically/scientifically proven *prior* to the advertising campaigns starting.

[ummmm]

I'm glad they'll have to provide scientific evidence. They are making millions from the gullible.

[FredPuli43]

Reminds me of a doctor employed by a cosmetics company. She said that if the cosmetics worked as people believed as, for example, creating younger skin, the products wouldn't be cosmetics. They'd be drugs, and drugs available only on prescription in most cases. Hence the wording 'helps to give the appearance of' and other carefully worded statements.

[Old_Geezer]

The aim is a good one but personally I'd prefer they simply insisted it was stated whether any claim had been substantiated to the required level or not. There is the possiblity of removing stuff with valid claims simply because the manufacturer doesn't have the cash to pay for official testing.

[LazyGun]

@OG eh? I do not think so. If food manufacturers wish to make health claims for their food, thus helping to boost sales and profits, then they have to be able to substantiate such claims scientifically.

No firm will go out of business- no food will be withdrawn from the marketplace .If manufacturers cannot verify their claims, they stop making them, or revise their advertising - not go bankrupt or stop manufacturing the product.

[WELSHYORKIE]

LG - (with your analytical scientific brain) - does having a probiotic drink actually boost your immune system - is 'el casei immunitas' real? There seems to be a new name on each ad you see on telly

[Old_Geezer]

Didn't think that was the claim. Isn't most of the pro-biotic stuff an attempt to colonise your insides with non-harmful stuff ?

[LazyGun]

@ OG and Yorkie - Therein lies the problem. We have been told that L.Casei Immunitas is a good thing for us, that it is a pro-biotic, but few know what that actually means, or what good it is supposed to do.

A probiotic is an allegedly beneficial micro-organism. Micro-organisms live in large colonies throughout the body, but especially within the gut.

However, different probiotic drinks carry different strains of beneficial bacteria. They have little or no actual evidence to support the specific health claims that have been made for them. So people are now taking a more detailed look at the supposed benefits.Activia, for example, claims it has studies that support the idea that the pro-biotic contained within its drink,Bifidus Regularis, can regulate the digestive system and aid in conditions like Irritable Bowel Syndrome ( IBS) - but as best as I can tell, these studies are all funded by Activia.

Finally, you have to appreciate the scale of the issue. Around 1-2% of your body mass is actually bacteria, and the amount specifically within the gut is probably around 2,maybe 3Kg by weight. That represents about 100 trillion cells, or 100 thousand billion cells. A daily dose of activia, or danone, or actimel serves up around 10000 million, an incredibly tiny fraction - In my opinion, it can have little to no effect, and any benefits you get from drinking such drinks you would get from drinking just plain yoghurt, or milk :)

[WELSHYORKIE]

See, I told you you had an analytical scientific brain but you wouldn't believe me!!! Besides all the scientific 'research' they tell us about, I for one, won't touch the stuff - tastes bloody awful!!! I await some independent research into the so called beneficial effects on cholesterol of things like benecol products and Flora pro active as a sufferer of familial hypercholesterolaemia, currently on statins.

[ChillDoubt]

I've asked Lower GI surgeons about the supposed health benefits of these probiotic drinks and all said they had no particular health benefits as opposed to a normal healthy diet.
One study does suggest that they were possibly effective in warding off c diff, but nothing above that.

[cazzz1975]

It would be nice if they banged to rights some of these so called healthy "diet" foods that are full of sugar and chemicals.

[Buenchico]

The Advertising Standards Authority already insists that advertising claims in relation to the health or nutritional benefits of foods must be on the relevant EU Register of approved findings.

See section 13.4 here:
http://www.cap.org.uk/Advertising-Codes/~/media/Files/CAP/Codes%20BCAP%20pdf/BCAP%20Code%200712.ashx

[LazyGun]

@Yorkie - I agree with you re more testing on the health benefit claims of the manufacturers of benecol and flora pro-active etc, and commiserations of the statins thing - my father is too.

@Chris - ASA is an excellent organisation - a model of self-regulation. If only the PCC had followed their example.