UK: The Joint Health Claims Initiative

After several months of work, the Joint Health Claims Initiative (JHCI) – comprised of the National Food Alliance, LACOTS and the Food & Drink Federation – has now drafted a code on health claims. This code lays down rules and guidelines for companies wishing to make health claims for their products and for regulators called upon to judge the veracity of those claims. It outlines the types of claims that would be permissible and the substantiation needed in order for those claims to be valid. This follows work carried out by MAFF in the early 1990s when increased recognition of the role of diet in health and the anticipated growth in the functional foods market led to a recognition that the legal and enforcement framework surrounding health claims was unsatisfactory, leading to laxity in certain areas and undue stringency in others. At present there are no enforcement mechanisms within the code other than referrals by the Code Administration Body to an existing regulator. The JHCI working group is in consultation with regulators about enforcement and the Advertising Association has been working with the Committee on Advertising Practice (CAP) to draw up a form of words suitable for incorporation into CAP codes for administration by the ASA.