Human testing of food
In the range of the functional food area the Nordic Innovation Centre (NICe) has approved among others a project on “Human testing of foods and Nordic Baltic consensus on level of proof and health claims”.
The aim of the project was to work on a Nordic - Nordic/Baltic consensus on:
- Claims to suggest to the authorities for submission to the EU-commission in mid 2007
- Consensus on documentation and level of proof for health claims
The coordination of the work on claims was done in a coordinating project board with Nils-Georg Asp from the Swedish Nutrition Foundation (SNF) as chairman. SNF has gained considerable experience in this area through its coordinating and advisory function in the Swedish Food Sector´s Code of Practice on Health Claims in the Labelling and Marketing of Food Products, effective since 1990 and revised September 2004.
The work on claims was finalized through a large conference in May 2008, where the aim was to have a public debate of health claims as well as the opportunity to invite politicians and the press, before the final decisions were taken in EU.
The work on acceptable level of proof through scientific validation of methods was done by four working groups: Intervention studies; Epidemiology; Biomarkers; and Animal studies. These working groups worked to suggest a Nordic consensus on "good and best practice" for human testing of food and ingredients given an appropriate level of proof and using the findings in PASSCLAIM as background material. The working groups also discussed methods and needs in the pipeline in relation to possible upcoming health claims. The four working groups consisted of parties from science, industry and authorities representing all Nordic and preferably Baltic countries.
The project was finalised during 2009 and the final outcome - a consensus report on "Best practice for human testing of food and ingredients in relation to health claims" – was presented at a conference in Reykjavik March 2009 arranged by Nordic Innovation Centre and Nordic Council of Ministers. Information about the consensus report can be obtained by contacting Øresund Food.
This project worked in close collaboration with a NICe project on consumer acceptance of health claims.
