Report concerning the proposal on nutrition claims of omega-3 fatty acids in foods, drafted by the european commission and the considerations of the proposal provided by EFSA

The European Commission has drafted a proposal of Regulation concerning the use of nutrition and health claims in the labelling, presentation and advertising of food products. In turn, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) through the Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA Panel) has issued a scientific Opinion concerning possible nutrition claims relating to omega-3 fatty acids, monounsaturated fat, unsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fat. This is an initial response from the EFSA to a question concerning nutrition claims. The reactions in Spain regarding the nutrition claims for omega-3 fatty acids proposed by the European Commission has been varied, mainly from entities in the food and drink industry and from associations in the sector. The Spanish Food Safety Agency (AESA) has been informed of these reactions, and this has led to the need for an Opinion from the EFSA Scientific Panel regarding various aspects of the content of the claims. These aspects refer to the minimum quantities of omega-3 fatty acids, the way in which this content is expressed and the number of arguments favouring reference in claims to long-chain omega-3 fatty acids separately and not merely to all omega-3 fatty acids in general. Following an analysis of the proposal regarding the nutrition claims of omega-3 fatty acids, the Scientific Committee of the AESA has practically reached the same conclusions as the Scientific Committee of the EFSA. That is, the preference for only one nutrition claim for omega-3 fatty acids in general is not justified, but, to the contrary, sufficient scientific evidence exists to assign separate claims relating to the principal types of recognised omega-3 fatty acids from the nutritional point of view. Continues...ES; es; pfefsa@msssi.e