Written question asked by Brian Iddon (Labour) on Thursday, 20 November 2008, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 24 November 2008. It was answered by Baroness Primarolo (Labour) on Wednesday, 26 November 2008 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Nutrition

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has had on the European Food Safety Authority's procedures to distinguish between the processes and criteria adopted in relation to claims submitted under (a) Article 14 and 13.5 and (b) Article 13.1 of the Nutrition and Health Claims Regulation; and if he will make a statement.

Answer: The Nutrition and Health Claims Regulation requires that (a) all nutrition and health claims must be substantiated by generally accepted scientific evidence to be authorised and listed as approved for use (Article 6); and (b) the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) must be consulted during the assessment of claims for its opinion on the scientific substantiation (Articles 13 and 14). The Article 13 process where member states submitted generic lists of claims for assessment is different to that under Article 14 where individual dossiers are required from applicants. It is for EFSA as the independent advisory body to decide if and how it may tailor its approach to delivering a scientific opinion on these claims and member states have no influence on this—nor should they. Whatever EFSA's approach, the requirements of the regulation must be satisfied.

Secondary information