Are foods bearing health claims medicinal products?
European legislation on foods and medicine has failed to keep pace with the developments in nutrition and medical science that now recognise many important contributions that diet and individual foods may make to the promotion and maintenance of health. EU food law prevents the communication of these benefits to consumers, whilst the law on medicinal products is established on a very broad basis that also encompasses foods making preventive, therapeutic or curative claims. This legislation, together with the lack of universal definitions in food law, results in divergence and legal uncertainty within and between Member States, and is in urgent need of revision. In this article, these aspects are investigated and illustrated by relevant case law. The legal boundaries of such concepts as “food”, “medicinal products”, “prevention”, “disease risk reduction”, etc., based on current EU legislation, national practices and case law, are explored. Finally, the concept of “Disease Risk Reduction
Related Questions
- More and more foods in the grocery store are fortified with added nutrients or functional ingredients to improve health. Why don your products contain these ingredients?
- More and more foods in the grocery store are fortified with added nutrients or functional ingredients to improve health. Why dont your products contain these ingredients?
- Are foods bearing health claims medicinal products?
