Scientific Opinion on the substantiation of health claims related to Lactobacillus reuteri ATCC 55730 and \u201cnatural defence\u201d (ID 905) pursuant to Article 13(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006

Following a request from the European Commission, the Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies was asked to provide a scientific opinion on a list of health claims pursuant to Article 13 of Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006. This opinion addresses the scientific substantiation of health claims in relation to Lactobacillus reuteri ATCC 55730 and \u201cnatural defence\u201d. The scientific substantiation is based on the information provided by the Member States in the consolidated list of Article 13 health claims and references that EFSA has received from Member States or directly from stakeholders. The food constituent that is the subject of the health claim is Lactobacillus reuteri ATCC 55730. The Panel considers that the food constituent, Lactobacillus reuteri ATCC 55730, which is the subject of the health claim, is sufficiently characterised. The claimed effect is \u201cnatural defence\u201d. The target population is assumed to be the general population. \u201cNatural defence\u201d is not sufficiently defined and no further details were provided in the proposed wording. The references cited addressed several effects and endpoints, and it is not possible to establish which effect is the target for the claim. The Panel considers that the claimed effect is general and non-specific and does not refer to any specific health claim as required by Regulation (EC) No 1924/200