Profiles: the good, the bad and the ugly
The big guns in confectionery will start lobbying in earnest this summer in a bid to prevent the nutrient profiling system in the EU Nutrition and Health Claims Regulation from killing off the European functional chocolate market.
The system, which will define which products are allowed to make health claims, must be agreed by next year. However, there is still no consensus on the best approach, with options ranging from a one-size-fits-all system based on total nutrient scores or thresholds for 'bad' ingredients, such as saturated fat, to one that judges foods on a category-by-category basis.
In February, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) hinted that the most practical approach might be a one-size-fits-all system with exemptions for certain products like cheese and spreads. It has not, however, recommended special treatment for other nutrient-rich but energy-dense products such as polyphenol-rich chocolate - which companies like Mars and Barry Callebaut have spent millions developing.
EFSA also failed to provide recommendations on whether to judge foods by portion or by weight, effectively passing the buck to the European Commission, said Mars Europe human health and nutrition manager Sylvie Chartron, who was speaking at a conference organised by confectionery trade body CAOBISCO.
"All EFSA did was outline the pros and cons of multiple systems and leave it to the politicians to decide, which means we'll end up with a political, not a scientific, solution." New research highlighting the flaws of an overly draconian system would be published in July to assist lobbying efforts, she said. "We'd like to see a category-based approach that would enable the healthiest products in a category to make claims."
CAOBISCO secretary general David Zimmer said members were opposed to profiling on principle, as it reinforced the erroneous impression that there were 'good' and 'bad' foods. However, if there had to be a system, it should at least compare products by portion, not by 100g, as sweets and chocolates were typically consumed in small quantities as treats, he argued.
