The document advises the European Commission on two pillars of the Farm to Fork strategy.
On October 28th 2021, over an open meeting, the EFSA Panel on Nutrition, Novel Foods and Food Allergens endorsed the draft of an Opinion on the development of nutrient profiles for restricting claims on food, and for the development of a harmonized mandatory front-of-pack nutrition labelling.
What does the Opinion draft concern?
The draft is about two of the actions envisioned by the European Commission within the Farm to Fork strategy, designed with the objective of reaching “a fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly food system”:
- the setting of a compulsory, harmonized front-of-pack nutrition labelling, which has been the object of a 2020 Commission report and was mentioned in the recent Orchidali article on Nutri-score,
- the establishment of nutrient profiles products need to comply to in order to bear nutrition and health claims. Such a tool has the purpose of avoiding attributing positive properties to food rich in sugar, salt, or fat. It had already been mentioned in Article 4 of Regulation (EC) 1924/2006, but it hadn’t been implemented because of the opposition of certain Member States and other controversies, as the Opinion explains. However, its importance has been reaffirmed by the 2020 REFIT evaluation of the Regulation.
They are based on the common reference ground set by nutrient profiling, i.e. “the science of classifying or ranking foods according to their nutritional composition for reasons related to preventing disease and promoting health”, according to the WHO definition.
What are the conclusions of the Opinion draft?
The Opinion draft is based on scientific evidence, previous EFSA Opinions, and Member States food-based dietary guidelines.
The Panel of experts that worked on the Opinion does not suggest nor designate any specific nutrient profiling method. The Authority purely identified food components that may be of interest when developing or adopting nutrient profiling models: those that present intakes above or below recommendations across the majority of EU populations, affecting public health.
The Opinion identifies saturated fatty acids, sodium, and added/free sugars as components that are over-consumed, and dietary fiber and potassium as under-consumed. Another public health element of concern is the total energy intake, which should be reduced.
The investigation also retrieved other components of interest, such as iron, calcium, or folic acid; however, since their inadequate intake only regards some subpopulations, and as they are usually already concerned by national measures, they weren’t retained.
What is the timeline of the Opinion draft?
The Opinion draft is under public consultation since November 15th 2021 until January 9th 2022. A definitive version of the Opinion will be published by the end of March 2022.
Related sources
Orchidali can contribute to improve the nutritional quality of your food products.
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The EFSA Opinion draft on front-of-pack nutrition labelling and nutrient profiles is open for public consultation
The document advises the European Commission on two pillars of the Farm to Fork strategy.
On October 28th 2021, over an open meeting, the EFSA Panel on Nutrition, Novel Foods and Food Allergens endorsed the draft of an Opinion on the development of nutrient profiles for restricting claims on food, and for the development of a harmonized mandatory front-of-pack nutrition labelling.
What does the Opinion draft concern?
The draft is about two of the actions envisioned by the European Commission within the Farm to Fork strategy, designed with the objective of reaching “a fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly food system”:
They are based on the common reference ground set by nutrient profiling, i.e. “the science of classifying or ranking foods according to their nutritional composition for reasons related to preventing disease and promoting health”, according to the WHO definition.
What are the conclusions of the Opinion draft?
The Opinion draft is based on scientific evidence, previous EFSA Opinions, and Member States food-based dietary guidelines.
The Panel of experts that worked on the Opinion does not suggest nor designate any specific nutrient profiling method. The Authority purely identified food components that may be of interest when developing or adopting nutrient profiling models: those that present intakes above or below recommendations across the majority of EU populations, affecting public health.
The Opinion identifies saturated fatty acids, sodium, and added/free sugars as components that are over-consumed, and dietary fiber and potassium as under-consumed. Another public health element of concern is the total energy intake, which should be reduced.
The investigation also retrieved other components of interest, such as iron, calcium, or folic acid; however, since their inadequate intake only regards some subpopulations, and as they are usually already concerned by national measures, they weren’t retained.
What is the timeline of the Opinion draft?
The Opinion draft is under public consultation since November 15th 2021 until January 9th 2022. A definitive version of the Opinion will be published by the end of March 2022.
Related sources
Orchidali can contribute to improve the nutritional quality of your food products.
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