Health claims proposal and sugar levels of fruit.
20 January 2006
There have been media reports that fresh fruit would not be allowed to have health claims as their naturally occurring sugar content was too high. This isn’t correct. Food Standards Australia New Zealand’s (FSANZ) clear intention is to allow health claims on healthier foods such as fruit and vegetables while preventing health claims on foods high in salt, fat and sugar.
FSANZ is currently seeking comment on a proposed health claims standard before finalising it mid-2006.
The proposed upper limit of sugar would only apply on the few occasions when a general level health claim is linked with a specific company brand of fruit, for example ‘Big Banana brand bananas are a good source of fibre which assists digestive health. Most fruit are sold by the name of or type of fruit, for example as ‘apple’ or ‘golden delicious apple’, rather than a specific name brand.
The proposed upper limit would not apply to the majority of healthy eating claims about fresh fruit including:
- General dietary advice such as‘eat 5 serves of vegetables and 2 of fruit each day’or‘eat at least five servings per day; at least 3 servings of vegetables and at least 2 servings of fruits’.
- Specific advice about a fruit or type of fruit such as ‘a healthy diet should include bananas’or ‘a healthy diet should include lady finger bananas’.
- General level health claims about a fruit or type of fruit such as ‘bananas are a good source of fibre which assists digestive health’.
- Vitamin or mineral claims about fruit such as ‘oranges are a good source of vitamin C’.
As part of the current round of public comment, FSANZ is working with industry, growers and health professionals to make sure we achieve sensible results. We are particularly seeking comment and feedback through briefings on how to draw the line to exclude less nutritious food from health claims while allowing healthier foods to make claims.
What are health claims?
Food Standards Australia New Zealand is currently seeking public comment on a new nutrition, health and related claims standard which will involve a major change to food labels to assist consumers make informed choices and encourage the food industry to develop healthier products.
The draft assessment report for health, nutrition and related claims was released for public comment on 28 November 2005. There is more information on exactly what health claims are at http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/whatsinfood/healthnutritionandrelatedclaims/ The proposed standard is at
the period for submissions closes on 31 March 2006. Extensive stakeholder briefings have already been held in Australia and New Zealand.
Why are there upper limits for saturated fat, salt and sugars in the proposed health claims standard?
This proposed standard is intended to ensure that health claims are not made on less nutritious foods, so upper levels per serve have been set for sugars (16g), saturated fats (4g) and salt (325mg). There is no upper limit for sugars, saturated fat and salt that apply when lower level nutrient claims or vitamin and mineral content and function claims are made.
What about the naturally occurring sugars in fruit?
The upper limit proposed for total sugars for all foods, not just fruit, is 16 g of total sugars per serve of food. However, as mentioned previously, this would only occur if there was a link with a specific brand of fruit. This level was selected after a comprehensive analysis. As a part of this process, food composition data were used to determine which types of foods would be likely to be excluded from making a general level health claim if certain disqualifying criteria were applied.
We are aware that, depending on serving size, branded offerings of some fruit, could be excluded from making some general level health claims by the proposed total sugars level of more than 16 g per serve. Sugar levels in fruit can also be affected by seasonality or the variety of fruit grown. We are doing further work on this issue.
Some media reports have indicated levels of total sugars in some fruits that are higher than levels for the same fruit in food composition data used by FSANZ. Note that a serve size is the fruit as it is eaten, so it will not include the core of an apple or the stone in a peach.
Why can’t only added sugar be considered?
When developing this proposal, both total and added sugars were considered as a possible basis for disqualifying criteria. Total sugars were considered the more appropriate nutrient group, given that both total and added sugars contribute to energy intake, and are digested and absorbed by the body through the same mechanism. Practical considerations around the limited availability of data relating to the added sugar content of individual foods and the consequent enforcement difficulties were also considered. For example, enforcement agencies would have to obtain recipé information from manufacturers to determine whether sugar had been added and what sugars were naturally occurring. In some cases concentrated fruit juices are used to sweeten products and these juices would be considered ‘natural’ but still have the same kilojoules and lack of additional nutrients as cane sugar.
Is fruit healthy?
Yes, dietary advice in Australia is that you should eat 2 serves of fruit and 5 serves of vegetables a day for good health and in New Zealand it is to e at at least five servings per day: at least 3 servings of vegetables and at least 2 servings of fruits . Most people do not consume this amount. This dietary advice regarding consumption of fruit will not be affected by the new health claims standard.
What is going to happen now with health claims and sugar levels in fruit?
FSANZ’s intent is to allow health claims on beneficial foods consistent with national nutritional guidelines such as fruit and vegetables, however in finalising this standard, there are difficulties in drawing the lines between these foods and those considered to be inappropriate to carry health claims.
We seek public comment to ensure that new standards will work effectively and meet public health and safety needs so we appreciate the feedback we have received. FSANZ is working with consumers, health professionals and industry to achieve sensible results and we are especially interested in seeking ideas to resolve this issue.
20 January 2006