The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recently published its third batch of article 13.1 health claim opinions. This included a total of 75 opinions, relating to 808 health claims. Cognis’s submitted claims on DHA and Vitamin E were positive, while the speciality chemicals supplier company’s health claims in relation to CLA seem not to have been evaluated yet.
There were three positive opinions on health claims concerning DHA – claims relating to normal brain function, normal vision, and maintaining normal (fasting) blood concentrations of triglycerides were all upheld – and various health claims for Vitamin E were also approved, relating to its ability to protect DNA, proteins and lipids against oxidative damage.
While the EFSA panel rejected some health claims relating to conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), it did not give any specific opinion about the relationship between CLA and body fat reduction. Cognis’ Tonalin CLA is marketed not as a weight loss ingredient, but rather as an ingredient for body fat reduction – a benefit that has been proven in numerous human studies, conducted to the strictest standards and designed using double-blind randomization and placebo control. “This is why we will review the opinion in detail and raise our concerns with the European Commission to clarify whether our claims will be evaluated in a later batch,” says Dr. Arne Ptock, global product line manager Tonalin, Cognis Nutrition & Health.