NVWA publishes Handbook Nutrition and Health Claims

The Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) has published a Handbook on Nutrition and Health Claims. Claims can be found on food labels, but also in leaflets, on websites and in (social) media. Claims, including nutrition and health claims, are a voluntary form of food information. Voluntary food information should never be misleading, confusing or ambiguous. For nutrition and health claims, further rules have been elaborated on the basis of the EU Claims Regulation (EC) No. 1924/2006.

Tool

The Handbook is intended as an aid to companies in order to comply with these rules. The Handbook explains, among other things, what nutritional claims and health claims are and explains the Regulation on Claims, the European Claims Register and the Claims Database of the Inspection Board.

The Handbook contains an overview of the relevant EU and Dutch regulations and documents regarding nutrition and health claims. Attention is also paid to enforcement by the NVWA. The Manual also contains various step-by-step plans for determining whether a nutrition or health claim is permitted. Definitions of nutrition and health claims and the differences between the various types of claims are explained. The general rules for nutrition and health claims are described and explained, followed by the specific rules for nutrition claims and health claims. The role of the Inspection Board for Health Claims is discussed, as well as a number of related topics, such as the prohibition of medical claims, claims for infant nutrition and sports nutrition.

Click here for the ‘Handbook on Nutrition and Health Claims’ (Dutch only)
nvwa.nl