The publication of the advice follows the public consultation to which the draft, endorsed in October 2021, had been submitted.
On April 19, EFSA published the document providing “Scientific advice related to nutrient profiling for the development of harmonised mandatory front-of-pack nutrition labelling and the setting of nutrient profiles for restricting nutrition and health claims on foods”, adopted in March 2022.
Let us recall that the purpose of the document, as explained in our previous article on the subject, is to advise the European Commission in establishing a nutrient profiling model to:
- limit the use of nutrition and health claims to foods with an optimal nutrient profile,
- guide the decision-making process toward an EU-harmonized front-of-pack nutrition labeling.
Both goals are part of the Commission’s Farm-to-Fork Strategy, which is in line with the European Green Deal policy, designed to “improve the well-being and health of citizens and future generations”.
With respect to the draft published in recent months, it is possible to identify some changes in the final version of the document.
The first divergence is the title: the document switches from being a “Scientific Opinion advising on…” to a “Scientific advice related to…”. Moreover, in contrast to the draft, the title of the new document is slightly varied to insist on the important of its key topic, which is nutrient profiling.
As for the rest of the paper, some slight changes can be observed, such as the addition, deletion or modification of some paragraphs, either for reasons of form or to ensure a greater scientific rigor (for example, to better contextualize or to cite the most recent findings on a topic).
In any case, the content and conclusions of the paper globally remain the same as what had been described in our previous article: according to the EFSA, nutrient profiling models should include saturated fatty acids, sodium, and added/free sugars (which appear to be over-consumed by European populations), as well as dietary fibre and potassium (which, in turn, are under-consumed); despite not being a nutrient, energy supply should be included too, because of its public-health relevance.
Let’s conclude by recalling the different roles of EFSA and the European Commission: EFSA is in charge of the scientific-technical side support belonging to the risk assessment area, while the Commission is involved in risk management. At this point it is up to the Commission, basing on EFSA’s advice, to formulate the policy decisions that will lead to the two objectives mentioned above. Orchidali will be sure to keep you updated on upcoming developments.
For more informations, you can consult our previous article on the topic.
Orchidali contributes to improve the nutritional quality of your food products.
Français
EFSA published the definitive version of its advice on nutrient profiling: the next steps are up to the Commission
The publication of the advice follows the public consultation to which the draft, endorsed in October 2021, had been submitted.
On April 19, EFSA published the document providing “Scientific advice related to nutrient profiling for the development of harmonised mandatory front-of-pack nutrition labelling and the setting of nutrient profiles for restricting nutrition and health claims on foods”, adopted in March 2022.
Let us recall that the purpose of the document, as explained in our previous article on the subject, is to advise the European Commission in establishing a nutrient profiling model to:
Both goals are part of the Commission’s Farm-to-Fork Strategy, which is in line with the European Green Deal policy, designed to “improve the well-being and health of citizens and future generations”.
With respect to the draft published in recent months, it is possible to identify some changes in the final version of the document.
The first divergence is the title: the document switches from being a “Scientific Opinion advising on…” to a “Scientific advice related to…”. Moreover, in contrast to the draft, the title of the new document is slightly varied to insist on the important of its key topic, which is nutrient profiling.
As for the rest of the paper, some slight changes can be observed, such as the addition, deletion or modification of some paragraphs, either for reasons of form or to ensure a greater scientific rigor (for example, to better contextualize or to cite the most recent findings on a topic).
In any case, the content and conclusions of the paper globally remain the same as what had been described in our previous article: according to the EFSA, nutrient profiling models should include saturated fatty acids, sodium, and added/free sugars (which appear to be over-consumed by European populations), as well as dietary fibre and potassium (which, in turn, are under-consumed); despite not being a nutrient, energy supply should be included too, because of its public-health relevance.
Let’s conclude by recalling the different roles of EFSA and the European Commission: EFSA is in charge of the scientific-technical side support belonging to the risk assessment area, while the Commission is involved in risk management. At this point it is up to the Commission, basing on EFSA’s advice, to formulate the policy decisions that will lead to the two objectives mentioned above. Orchidali will be sure to keep you updated on upcoming developments.
For more informations, you can consult our previous article on the topic.
Orchidali contributes to improve the nutritional quality of your food products.
Tags: