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. 2024 Feb 9;13(4):539.
doi: 10.3390/foods13040539.

The Prevalence and Compliance of Health Claims Used in the Labelling and Information for Prepacked Foods within Great Britain

Emma Coates  1 , Kristina Pentieva  1 , Hans Verhagen  1   2   3
Affiliations

The Prevalence and Compliance of Health Claims Used in the Labelling and Information for Prepacked Foods within Great Britain

Emma Coates et al. Foods. .

Abstract

In the EU and Great Britain (GB), all health claims (HCs) on food must be authorised before use and should comply with Regulation 1924/2006. In GB, all HCs, authorised or not, are listed in the Great Britain Nutrition and Health Claims Register. This study reviews the prevalence and compliance of HCs on prepacked foods sold within three GB supermarkets and via their grocery shopping websites. In June 2023, food labels and online product information of 440 products were evaluated across three food categories-dairy and dairy alternatives; fruit juices, fruit juice drinks and fruit smoothies; and teas and infusions. In store, 26.3% of products carried an HC and 28.3% online. The prevalence of HCs was higher when compared with data from 2016. Overall compliance was high, in store (94.3%) and online (90.0%), with no statistically significant difference in overall HC compliance between in store and online products (p = 0.724). The HC violations observed in the present study were due to non-compliant wording of HCs or use of non-authorised HCs. This study demonstrates changes in the HC landscape and the need for continued monitoring of the prevalence and compliance of HCs as consumer trends alter.

Keywords: Regulation 1924/2006; compliance; foods; health claims.

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Conflict of interest statement

Hans Verhagen’s role in this trial was during the conceptualization and supervision as a professor via Ulster University, not an employee of the company. He declares no conflicts of interest. The other authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart to summarise the data collection process.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Health claim compliance assessment tool.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Percentage of types of health claims used on dairy and dairy alternative products available in store and online.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Percentage of types of health claims used on fruit juice, fruit juice drink and fruit smoothie products available in store and online.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Percentage of types of health claims used on tea and infusion products available in store and online.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Percentage of types of food components used in health claims on products available in store and online.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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