Health Claims for Foods and Dietary Supplements

Abstract

KEY POINTS • There is scientific consensus that improving dietary habits helps to promote health and reduce the risk of chronic diseases. • Scientifically substantiated health claims in food labeling can help consumers identify healthy foods and food habits that may protect health and prevent disease. • The Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990 authorized the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve health claims for foods and dietary supplements when the claims were supported by "significant scientific agreement," and a number of such claims have been approved. • Courts have ruled that the FDA must also consider permitting "qualified" health claims when such claims are truthful and not misleading, and the agency has permitted a number of qualified health claims. • The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 authorized marketers of dietary supplements to use label statements describing the effect of a product on the structure and function of the body (under certain conditions), and these "structure/function" statements are widely used. • The interest in health claims is global, but different countries and international policy-making bodies have adopted markedly different regulatory structures for handling such claims.