Fifteen Years of Regulating Nutrition and Health Claims in Europe: The Past, the Present and the Future

Boer, Alie de

doi:10.3390/nu13051725

Cited by 31 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 90 publications

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“…Although the EU intends to accept a harmonized FOPL before the end of 2022 to tackle obesity and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs), the ideal approach is highly debated among member states ( 62 ). Summary indicator-type Nutri-Score is the most popular and has been debated at high political levels, especially in Italy and other Mediterranean countries, as mentioned above ( 63 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of Content, Social Networks, and Sentiment of Front-of-Pack Nutrition Labeling in the European Union on Twitter

et al. 2022

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In recent years, concerted political efforts have been made at the national and European Union (EU) level to promote the consumption of healthy foods. The European Commission (EC) expressed the need for a harmonized and mandatory front-of-pack nutrition labeling (FOPL) system at the EU level. The EC will adopt the proposal by the end of 2022. Our research work aims to understand the public discourse on FOPL in the EU via Twitter, by analyzing tweet content, sentiment, and mapping network characteristics. Tweet search and data collection were performed using the Twitter application programming interface (API), with no time or language restrictions. The content was coded with the QRS Nvivo software package and analyzed thematically. Automatic sentiment analysis was performed with QSR Nvivo, and network analysis was performed with Gephi 0.9.2. A total of 4,073 tweets were posted, mostly from the UK, Spain, and France. Themes that have emerged from the discussion on Twitter include the types of food labeling, food industry, healthy vs. unhealthy foods in the context of food labeling, EU regulation, political conflicts, and science and education. Nutri-Score dominated the discussion on Twitter. General topics were perceived negatively by Twitter users with more positive sentiments toward the food industry, while negative sentiments were observed toward the discourse of political conflicts. The network analysis showed that a centralized communication was hardly existed between countries. Our results reveal that the discussion of FOPL on Twitter is limited to a very limited group of people, and it seems necessary to inform a wide range of consumers about existing and upcoming FOPL schemes. Educational programs should empower consumers to understand what a healthy diet is and how it relates to FOPL, regardless of the existing labeling system.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of Content, Social Networks, and Sentiment of Front-of-Pack Nutrition Labeling in the European Union on Twitter

et al. 2022

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“…In order to ensure that any claim made on a food label is clear and substantiated by scientific evidence, European authorities issued the EC Regulation 1924/2006 concerning the use of nutrition and health claims. EFSA must verify the scientific substantiation of the petitions that have to fulfil all requirements according to specific guidelines [ 78 ].…”

Section: Key Thematic Areas In the Metrofood-ri Scientific Planmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strategic Priorities of the Scientific Plan of the European Research Infrastructure METROFOOD-RI for Promoting Metrology in Food and Nutrition

Tsimidou

Ordoudi

Mantzouridou

et al. 2022

Foods

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The pan-European distributed Research Infrastructure for Promoting Metrology in Food and Nutrition (METROFOOD-RI) has evolved in the frame of the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) to promote high-quality metrology services across the food chain. The METROFOOD-RI comprises physical facilities and electronic facilities. The former includes Reference Material plants and analytical laboratories (the ‘Metro’ side) and also experimental fields/farms, processing/storage plants and kitchen-labs (the ‘Food’ side). The RI is currently prepared to apply for receiving the European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC) legal status and is organised to fulfil the requirements for operation at the national, European Union (EU) and international level. In this view, the METROFOOD-RI partners have recently reviewed the scientific plan and elaborated strategic priorities on key thematic areas of research in the food and nutrition domain to which they have expertise to contribute to meet global societal challenges and face unexpected emergencies. The present review summarises the methodology and main outcomes of the research study that helped to identify the key thematic areas from a metrological standpoint, to articulate critical and emerging issues and demands and to structure how the integrated facilities of the RI can operate in the first five years of operation as ERIC.

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“…Food labels provide information about the food product, such as its energy value, the contents of certain nutrients it contains (fats, saturated fatty acids, carbohydrates, sugars, proteins, salts, vitamins, minerals, DF, and other nutrients), and some mandatory components [ 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 ]. Therefore, food labels carry useful information about products and can be thought of as the identity card of a food product.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nutritional and health claims are not mandatory on food products, and legal norms strictly prohibit the use of information that could mislead the purchaser or that attributes medicinal properties to food [ 29 , 37 , 38 ]. However, the growing link between diet and health has prompted the need for a clearer emphasis on nutrition labeling [ 6 , 39 ] in terms of highlighting nutritional and health benefits.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is Better Knowledge about Health Benefits of Dietary Fiber Related to Food Labels Reading Habits? A Croatian Overview

Ljubičić

Sarić

Rumbak

et al. 2022

Foods

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The aim of this cross-sectional study was to determine the associations between health dietary patterns, knowledge, and consumption of dietary fiber (DF) with frequency of food label reading on food products with special reference to DF. The study was conducted in 2536 Croatian adults using an original questionnaire. Multiple linear regression models were used to assess associations between food label reading habits and predictor variables. Our study confirms the association between habits regarding the reading of labels on food products, especially in relation to information about DF with the sociodemographic factors of respondents, dietary food patterns and DF consumption, as well as knowledge and sources of information about DF. Women, individuals with a university-level education, and those living in an urban environment had more frequent labels used. Food habits as well as eating outside of the home were positive predictors while eating fast food was a negative predictor of food label reading. Knowledge about DF, especially about its health benefits, was also associated with food label reading. The interpretation of associations could help with the design of effective public health programs. Targeted education campaigns to educate and sensitize the population about food labeling and monitoring may improve general knowledge about healthy food and its benefits, which include indirect effects on the prevention of non-communicable chronic diseases.

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Fifteen Years of Regulating Nutrition and Health Claims in Europe: The Past, the Present and the Future

Cited by 31 publications

References 90 publications

Analysis of Content, Social Networks, and Sentiment of Front-of-Pack Nutrition Labeling in the European Union on Twitter

Analysis of Content, Social Networks, and Sentiment of Front-of-Pack Nutrition Labeling in the European Union on Twitter

Strategic Priorities of the Scientific Plan of the European Research Infrastructure METROFOOD-RI for Promoting Metrology in Food and Nutrition

Is Better Knowledge about Health Benefits of Dietary Fiber Related to Food Labels Reading Habits? A Croatian Overview

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