Health claims on food products: marketing tools
INFACT is opposed in principle to the use of health and related claims on food product labels, as these must be seen as marketing tools. Our position is that nutrition information and recommendations should be independent of commercial interests and are the responsibilities of health departments.
At the Codex Labeling Committee’s Working Group on Nutrition and Health Claims, chaired by Health Canada’s Margaret Cheney, INFACT and its sister organizations (IBFAN, Consumers International and the International Association of Consumer Food Organizations) brought up issues of misleading statements, issues of conflict of interest, and the need for independent research to verify food claims.
