1. ANALYSIS

1.1. Drawing the borders with scientific research

Communicating with consumers is a vital part of any business and efforts to reach out must start with the consumer themselves. Therefore, it is important to have a deep and clear understanding of consumers and their needs. Disseminating health benefits can be one successful way of communicating with consumers, and this can often times be done through health claims. Health claims in general are a statement between a food product and the health benefits it can potentially give consumers. However, claims on the health benefits of nuts and dried fruits should not and cannot be made unless they are based on scientific research and evidence.

A health claim is any statement about a relationship between food and health. For instance, in the EU, the European Commission authorizes different health claims provided they are based on scientific evidence and can be easily understood by consumers. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is responsible for evaluating the scientific evidence supporting health claims. In the US, authorized health claims in food labeling are claims that have been reviewed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and are allowed on food products or dietary supplements to show that a food or food component may reduce the risk of a disease or a health-related condition. Such claims are supported by scientific evidence and may be used on conventional foods and on dietary supplements to characterize a relationship between a substance (a specific food component or a specific food) and a disease or health-related condition (e.g., high blood pressure).