ABSTRACT
Whole grain and whole grain foods enjoy recommendation as part of many national and international dietary guidelines. However, if the food industry makes claims for the health benefits of whole grain foods, then a raft of regulatory requirements must be met in the European Union (EU). Under the relatively recent EU Regulation on nutrition and health claims made on foods, any nutrition claims about the energy, nutrients, fiber, or other beneficial substances the food contains need to comply with the Annex of that Regulation. As far as health claims are concerned, until the Community list of approved so-called Article 13 claims is published, food businesses may use any health claims that can be validated by scientific evidence, providing that they meet any specific requirements of the Regulation that are applicable prior to that date and providing they are not 1) prohibited claims or 2) claims referring to a reduction in the risk of disease or a disease risk factor or 3) referring to children's development and health or 4) claims that have been rejected by the EU regulatory procedure. Claims under 2) or 3) require submission of a dossier. Once the Community list of health Article 13 claims is published, then only those claims included in the list or those claims approved following submission of a dossier to the European Food Safety Authority may be used. Whole grain foods making nutrition and health claims will also ultimately have to respect the nutrient profiles that will be established under Article 4 of the Regulation. Various definitions of what counts as a whole grain food have been proposed but none has regulatory standing in EU. The conditions of use that will be documented as part of the EU-approved list of health claims may in essence establish a definition.
