Tougher rules on product endorsement on the way

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is to introduce guidelines on food endorsements, having argued for their inclusion in Europe's forthcoming regulation on nutrition and health claims made on food, to mixed reactions.

Proposals by the European Parliament (EP) to ban claims which referred to the advice of doctors, health professionals or charities could have seriously affected charities, said the UK government, which offered to draft best practice guidelines on food endorsement instead.

The National Osteoporosis Society, which endorsed Calcium Tropicana, welcomed the FSA's move. "Companies that wanted endorsement, before now, have had to go through our nutrition forums on a case by case basis," it said. "We have strict procedures, but the new regulations will mean that everyone is working to the same standard."

The Pomegreat drink firm RJ Foods backed endorsement. "Cholesterol charity Heart UK's endorsement of our product was quite important because it's lent credibility to the product," said Pomegreat manager Asanka Defilva. "When our message is combined with the charity's message, then consumers perceive it to be good."

However, not all charities were keen on endorsement. "We never endorse specific products, because it's not always helpful to the consumer," said the British Nutrition Foundation. "It undermines the integrity you're perceived to have and you end up getting yourself into a real mess."

The EP's Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee is likely to adopt the EC recommendation on food claims on March 21 and the European Parliament in May, for implementation later in the year.