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

• Published date: 30 December 2006
• Official Gazette Publication: Gazzetta ufficiale dell’Unione europea, L 404, 30 dicembre 2006,Diario Oficial de la Unión Europea, L 404, 30 de diciembre de 2006,Journal officiel de l’Union européenne, L 404, 30 décembre 2006

2006R1924 — EN — 13.12.2014 — 004.001

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This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents

►B ▼C1 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▼B (OJ L 404, 30.12.2006, p.9)

Amended by:

		Official Journal
		No	page	date
►M1	REGULATION (EC) No 107/2008 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 15 January 2008	L 39	8	13.2.2008
►M2	REGULATION (EC) No 109/2008 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 15 January 2008	L 39	14	13.2.2008
►M3	COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) No 116/2010 of 9 February 2010	L 37	16	10.2.2010
►M4	REGULATION (EU) No 1169/2011 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 25 October 2011	L 304	18	22.11.2011
►M5	COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) No 1047/2012 of 8 November 2012	L 310	36	9.11.2012

Corrected by:

►C1 Corrigendum, OJ L 012, 18.1.2007, p. 3 (1924/2006)

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▼C1

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

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 95 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (1),

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty (2),

Whereas:

(1) An increasing number of foods labelled and advertised in the Community bear nutrition and health claims. In order to ensure a high level of protection for consumers and to facilitate their choice, products put on the market, including imported products, should be safe and adequately labelled. A varied and balanced diet is a prerequisite for good health and single products have a relative importance in the context of the total diet.

(2) Differences between national provisions relating to such claims may impede the free movement of foods and create unequal conditions of competition. They thus have a direct impact on the functioning of the internal market. It is therefore necessary to adopt Community rules on the use of nutrition and health claims on foods.

(3) General labelling provisions are contained in Directive 2000/13/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 March 2000 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the labelling, presentation and advertising of foodstuffs (3). Directive 2000/13/EC generally prohibits the use of information that would mislead the purchaser or attribute medicinal properties to food. This Regulation should complement the general principles in Directive 2000/13/EC and lay down specific provisions concerning the use of nutrition and health claims concerning foods to be delivered as such to the consumer.

(4) This Regulation should apply to all nutrition and health claims made in commercial communications, including inter alia generic advertising of food and promotional campaigns, such as those supported in whole or in part by public authorities. It should not apply to claims which are made in non-commercial communications, such as dietary guidelines or advice issued by public health authorities and bodies, or non-commercial communications and information in the press and in scientific publications. This Regulation should also apply to trade marks and other brand names which may be construed as nutrition or health claims.

(5) Generic descriptors (denominations) which have traditionally been used to indicate a particularity of a class of foods or beverages which could imply an effect on human health, such as ‘digestive’ or ‘cough drops’, should be exempted from the application of this Regulation.

(6) Non-beneficial nutrition claims are not covered by the scope of this Regulation; Member States intending to introduce national schemes relating to non-beneficial nutrition claims should notify such schemes to the Commission and to other Member States in accordance with Directive 98/34/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 June 1998 laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical standards and regulations and of rules on Information Society services (4).

(7) At international level the Codex Alimentarius has adopted General Guidelines on Claims in 1991 and Guidelines for the Use of Nutrition Claims in 1997. An amendment to the latter has been adopted by the Codex Alimentarius Commission in 2004. That amendment concerns the inclusion of health claims in the 1997 Guidelines. Due consideration is given to the definitions and conditions set in the Codex Guidelines.

(8) The possibility of using the claim ‘low fat’ for spreadable fats provided for in Council Regulation (EC) No 2991/94 of 5 December 1994 laying down standards for spreadable fats (5) should be adapted to the provisions of this Regulation as soon as possible. In the meantime, Regulation (EC) No 2991/94 applies for the products it covers.

(9) There is a wide range of nutrients and other substances including, but not limited to, vitamins, minerals including trace elements, amino-acids, essential fatty acids, fibre, various plants and herbal extracts with a nutritional or physiological effect that might be present in a food and be the subject of a claim. Therefore, general principles applicable to all claims made on foods should be established in order to ensure a high level of consumer protection, give the consumer the necessary information to make choices in full knowledge of the facts, as well as creating equal conditions of competition for the food industry.

(10) Foods promoted with claims may be perceived by consumers as having a nutritional, physiological or other health advantage over similar or other products to which such nutrients and other substances are not added. This may encourage consumers to make choices which directly influence their total intake of individual nutrients or other substances in a way which would run counter to scientific advice. To address this potential undesirable effect, it is appropriate to impose certain restrictions as regards the products bearing claims. In this context, factors such as the presence of certain substances, or the nutrient profile of a product, are appropriate criteria for determining whether the product can bear claims. The use of such criteria at national level, whilst justified for the purpose of allowing consumers to make informed nutritional choices, is likely to result in barriers to intra-Community trade and should therefore be harmonised at Community level. Health information and communication supporting national authority or Community messages about the dangers of misuse of alcohol should not fall under the scope of this Regulation.

(11) The application of nutrient profiles as a criterion would aim to avoid a situation where nutrition or health claims mask the overall nutritional status of a food product, which could mislead consumers when trying to make healthy choices in the context of a balanced diet. Nutrient profiles as provided for in this Regulation should be intended for the sole purpose of governing the circumstances in which claims may be made. They should be based on generally accepted scientific evidence relative to the relationship between diet and health. However, profiles should also allow for product innovation and should take into account the variability of dietary habits and traditions, and the fact that individual products may have an important role in the context of an overall diet.

(12) The establishment of nutrient profiles should take into account the content of different nutrients and substances with a nutritional or physiological effect, in particular those such as fat, saturated fat, trans-fatty acids, salt/sodium and sugars, excessive intakes of which in the overall diet are not recommended, as well as poly- and mono-unsaturated fats, available carbohydrates other than sugars, vitamins, minerals, protein and fibre. When setting the nutrient profiles, the different categories of foods and the place and role of these foods in the overall diet should be taken into account and due regard should be given to the various dietary habits and consumption patterns existing in the Member States. Exemptions from the requirement to respect established nutrient profiles may be necessary for certain foods or categories of foods depending on their role and importance in the diet of the population. These would be complex technical tasks and the adoption of the relevant measures should be entrusted to the Commission, taking into account the advice of the European Food Safety Authority.

(13) Food supplements as defined in Directive 2002/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 June 2002 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to food supplements (6) presented in a liquid form and containing more than 1,2 % by volume of alcohol are not considered as beverages under this Regulation.

(14) There is a wide variety of claims currently used in the labelling and advertising of foods in some Member States relating to substances that have not been shown to be beneficial or for which at present there is not sufficient scientific agreement. It is necessary to ensure that the substances for which a claim is made have been shown to have a beneficial nutritional or physiological effect.

(15) In order to ensure that the claims made are truthful, it

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