Share
What is the criteria for prebiotic nutrition labelling claim in Germany?
Question
2 years AGO
739 views
Enter your email to reset your password.
Thread Reply
Prebiotic is defined as “a non-digestible food ingredient that beneficially affects the host by selectively stimulating the growth and/or activity of one or a limited number of bacteria in the colon” which is introduced by Glenn Gibson and Marcel Roberfroid in 1995.
According to Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 on Nutrition and Health Claims made on foods, a health claim refers to any claim that states, suggests or implies that a relationship exists between a food category, a food or one of its constituents and health. For this reason, the term ‘prebiotic’ is considered as health claim when used on a food label. Currently, no prebiotic claims are permitted in Europe, and thus also not in Germany. In 2014, the German Federal Court ruled to ban “Praebiotik + Probiotik” on packaging on the basis it is a health claim. German food business operators using prebiotic or probiotic ingredients will have to be careful with their advertising as a result of this ruling.
Health claims can only be authorized for use in the Community after a scientific assessment by the European Food Safety Authority.
Following information or documents should be submitted for health claim application:
Reference