EU Health Claim |
FSANZ Systematic review |
Date and outcome of systematic review |
Include in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code?
(Yes/No) |
Food, component, ingredient, constituent or other feature of food |
Health effect |
Food or property of food |
Health effect |
Potassium |
Contributes to the maintenance of normal blood pressure |
Potassium |
Reduces blood pressure |
Review completed: July 2014
- Increased potassium intake reduces blood pressure in hypertensive adults ('High' degree of certainty)
- Increased potassium intake does not reduce blood pressure in normotensive adults ('Moderate' degree of certainty)
Read the systematic review |
No
FSANZ considers a claim about the relationship would be therapeutic in nature. Claims that are therapeutic in nature are prohibited in Standard 1.2.7.
Read about the decision |
Meal replacement for weight control |
Substituting one daily meal of an energy restricted diet with a meal replacement contributes to the maintenance of weight after weight loss |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
No
Similar general level health claims about energy and weight loss or weight maintenance are already in Schedule 3 of Standard 1.2.7.
Read about the decision |
Meal replacement for weight control |
Substituting two daily meals of an energy restricted diet with meal replacements contributes to weight loss |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
Walnuts |
Contribute to the improvement of the elasticity of blood vessels |
Walnuts |
Contribute to the improvement of endothelium-dependent vasodilation (EDV) |
Review completed: October 2014
Due to the small number, low quality and variable methods in the studies, the relationship cannot be reliably assessed.
Read the systematic review |
No
Relationship cannot reliably be assessed. |
Pectins |
Contribute to the maintenance of normal blood cholesterol levels |
Pectin |
Reduces blood total cholesterol |
Review completed: February 2015
- In hypercholesterolaemic adults1, increased pectin intake reduces blood total cholesterol ('Moderate' degree of certainty).
- In normocholesterolaemic adults2, increased pectin intake has no effect on blood total cholesterol ('Low' degree of certainty).
- Note that the lowest daily additional intake of pectin tested in the studies included in the systematic review is 9g, which is above what could be obtained from a normal diet.
Read the systematic review |
No
Based on the evidence obtained from high quality studies, it was not possible to establish the relationship to a high degree of certainty. |
Docosahexanoic acid (DHA) |
Contributes to the maintenance of normal brain function |
Docosahexanoic acid (DHA) |
Required to maintain normal brain function |
Review completed October 2015
There were no studies examining the effects of dietary DHA deficiency, therefore the relationship cannot be assessed.
Read the systematic review |
No
Relationship cannot be assessed |
Contributes to the maintenance of normal vision |
Docosahexanoic acid (DHA) |
Required to maintain normal vision |
Review completed October 2015
There were no studies examining the effects of dietary DHA deficiency, therefore the relationship cannot be assessed.
Read the systematic review |
No
Relationship cannot be assessed |
β-glucan from oats |
Lowers/reduces blood cholesterol. High cholesterol is a risk factor in the development of coronary heart disease. |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
No
The construct of the claim does not fit explicitly within the current health claims framework.
Read about the decision |
Phytosterols/phytostanols and their esters |
Lowers/reduces blood cholesterol. High cholesterol is a risk factor in the development of coronary heart disease. |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
No
The construct of the claim does not fit explicitly within the current health claims framework.
Read about the decision |
Plant sterols/plant stanol esters |
Lowers/reduces blood cholesterol. High cholesterol is a risk factor in the development of coronary heart disease. |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
No
The construct of the claim does not fit explicitly within the current health claims framework.
Read about the decision |
Plant sterols: sterols extracted from plants, free or esterified with food grade fatty acids |
Lowers/reduces blood cholesterol. High cholesterol is a risk factor in the development of coronary heart disease. |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
No
The construct of the claim does not fit explicitly within the current health claims framework.
Read about the decision |
Sugar-free chewing gum |
Helps neutralise plaque acids. Plaque acids are a risk factor in the development of dental caries. |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
No
The construct of the claim does not fit explicitly within the current health claims framework.
Read about the decision |
Sugar-free chewing gum |
Helps reduce tooth demineralisation. Tooth demineralisation is a risk factor in the development of dental caries. |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
No
The construct of the claim does not fit explicitly within the current health claims framework.
Read about the decision |
Chewing gum sweetened with 100% xylitol |
Reduces dental plaque. High content/level of dental plaque is a risk factor in the development of caries in children. |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
No
The construct of the claim does not fit explicitly within the current health claims framework.
Read about the decision |
α-linolenic acid (ALA) and linoleic acid (LA), essential fatty acids |
Needed for normal growth and development of children |
α-linolenic acid (ALA) and linoleic acid (LA) consumed together |
Normal growth and development in children |
Review completed: April 2016
There were no appropriate human studies that allowed the relationship to be assessed.
Read the systematic review |
No
Relationship cannot be assessed. |
Chromium |
Contributes to the maintenance of normal blood glucose levels |
Chromium |
Reduces fasting blood glucose concentration in people with chromium deficiency |
Review completed: March 2016
The relationship could not be assessed due to multiple uncontrolled confounders in the included studies.
Read the systematic review |
No
Relationship cannot be assessed. |
Chromium |
Reduces fasting blood glucose concentration in normoglycaemic people or people with impaired glucose tolerance consuming a wide range of foods |
Review completed: March 2016
There was a 'moderate' degree of certainty for no relationship between chromium intake and blood glucose concentration in both normoglycaemic people and people with impaired glucose tolerance.
Read the systematic review |
No
There was no effect of chromium on blood glucose concentration. |
β-glucan from oats or barley as part of a meal |
Contributes to the reduction of blood glucose rise after a meal |
β-glucan from oats |
Reduces peak postprandial blood glucose concentration |
Review completed: April 2016 There is a ‘very low’ degree of certainty in the relationship between the intake of beta glucan from oats and the reduction in peak postprandial blood glucose concentration.
Read the systematic review |
No
It was not possible to establish the relationship to a ‘high’ degree of certainty. |
β-glucan from barley |
Reduces peak postprandial blood glucose concentration |
Review completed: April 2016 The relationship cannot be assessed due to the lack of studies enabling the health effect to be attributed to beta glucan.
Read the systematic review
|
No
Relationship cannot be assessed. |
Pectins |
Contribute to the reduction of blood glucose rise after a meal |
Pectin |
Reduces peak postprandial blood glucose concentration |
Review completed: November 2016
At an intake of 1.4 – 5.2 g pectin in a meal there was no effect on peak postprandial blood glucose concentration. There was a 'very low' degree of certainty in this relationship.
At an intake of 10 – 14.5 g pectin in a meal the degree of certainty in the relationship was 'very low'.
Read the systematic review |
No
It was not possible to establish the relationship to a 'high' degree of certainty. |
Arabinoxylan |
Contributes to a reduction of blood glucose rise after a meal |
Pure arabinoxylan |
Reduces peak postprandial blood glucose concentration |
Review completed: November 2016
The relationship cannot be assessed due to the lack of studies examining the effect of pure arabinoxylan.
Read the systematic review |
No
Relationship cannot be assessed. |
Arabinoxylan-rich fibre |
Reduces peak postprandial blood glucose concentration |
Review completed: November 2016
There was a 'moderate' degree of certainty in the relationship.
Read the systematic review |
No
It was not possible to establish the relationship to a 'high' degree of certainty. |
Replacing saturated fats with unsaturated fats in the diet |
Contributes to the maintenance of normal blood cholesterol levels [MUFA and PUFA are unsaturated fatty acids] |
Replacement of saturated fatty acids with polyunsaturated and/or monounsaturated fatty acids |
Decreases blood total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol concentrations |
Review completed: July 2016
There was a 'high' degree of certainty in the relationship.
Read the systematic review |
It is anticipated that a proposal will be prepared to assess including this relationship in the Code. |
α-linolenic acid |
Contributes to the maintenance of normal blood cholesterol levels |
Increased intake of alpha-linolenic acid |
Decreases blood total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol concentrations |
Review completed: July 2016
There was a ‘high’ degree of certainty in the relationship.
Read the systematic review |
No
FSANZ considers this claim is covered by the claim referring to the replacement of saturated fatty acids with polyunsaturated fatty acids. |
Linoleic acid |
Contributes to the maintenance of normal blood cholesterol levels |
Increased intake of linoleic acid |
Decreases blood total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol concentrations |
Review completed: July 2016
There was a 'high' degree of certainty in the relationship.
Read the systematic review |
No
FSANZ considers this claim is covered by the claim referring to the replacement of saturated fatty acids with polyunsaturated fatty acids. |