A study shows Irish consumers are sceptical of food firms' health claims but that about half believe probiotic yogurts and cereals are credible health foods, writes CATHERINE CLEARY
IN YOGURT we trust, it seems. As the future of claims around probiotic yogurt drinks comes under threat from EU regulation, a report on attitudes to health foods shows Irish consumers are more likely to trust a yogurt than a breakfast cereal to deliver health benefits.
Fiona Lalor, a researcher at University College Dublin, found a relatively high level of disbelief about the health benefits of “functional foods” among a panel of 665 households in an internet survey. Fewer than half of those polled believed a claim that certain foods “reduce feelings of hunger”. This fell to one in four believing a food could improve your digestion or reduce your cholesterol, and to just over one in five people believing functional foods could “strengthen bones and teeth”.
The study, published in the British Food Journal has found that yogurt was the most credible health food: nearly 54 per cent of those surveyed in Ireland trust its health benefits, compared with 49 per cent who trust breakfast cereals and 4 per cent who believe chocolate could carry health benefits.
The study cites a growth rate of up to 20 per cent in recent years in the EU and US markets for foods that make health claims.
Almost 70 per cent of the respondents were well-educated women. More than one in three bought a product that lowers cholesterol.
“ ‘Yogurt’ was the food that carried more health claims than any other in Ireland, and therefore it is reasonable to assume that consumers would be more familiar with health claims on yogurt than on other products, as they are more prevalent in the supermarket,” the study said, concluding that the level of scepticism suggests “people do not purchase products because of their health claim”.
The study shows people still consume products even if they don’t believe the health claims, which may be of comfort to those involved in probiotics, the sector facing the first stage of EU regulation of the functional-food industry.
The EU adopted new regulations on health claims by food companies five years ago. Member states were invited to submit health claims to be independently assessed by the European Food Safety Authority’s expert panel on dietetics, nutrition and allergies. The panel is currently chaired by a University College Cork professor, Albert Flynn. More than 44,000 claims were submitted, which were whittled down to about 4,000 to be assessed in detail.
The EU’s evaluation of these claims is due to finish in June or early July. A spokeswoman said the evaluations then go to the European Commission, which will decide whether they can allow the claims to be made.
Lalor says her study showed “a relatively healthy disbelief of things that big manufacturers have to say”. This could be linked to a lack of trust in large food companies following scares around dioxin contamination and BSE. Functional foods were “never going to solve our public-health problems with obesity,” Lalor says. “But there is a place for them in the marketplace where relatively minor ailments can be alleviated when the science is developed.”
She says the food authority was “making it particularly tricky” for manufacturers to prove their claims. “Probiotics have not been faring very well,” she says. “Not one has been approved.” This could lead to a ban on health claims around probiotics.
Sceptics’ charter
Some of the food products and health claims the EU’s expert panel examined:
Lutein and zeaxanthinClaim: improves vision. Result: No "cause-and-effect relationship" established between its consumption and the maintenance of normal vision.
Niacin Claim:reduces tiredness.
Result: A cause-and-effect relationship has been established, but no evidence that “inadequate intake of niacin leading to tiredness and fatigue occurs in the general EU population”.
Pomegranate juice Claim: maintains heart health and normal blood cholesterol. Result: No cause-and-effect relationship.
Walnuts Claim:maintains normal blood LDL-cholesterol. Result: No cause-and- effect relationship "beyond what could be expected from the fatty-acid composition of walnuts".
Plant stanol ester Claim:reduces cholesterol. Result: LDL cholesterol could be lowered by 10 per cent with a daily intake of 2g of plant stanols in yogurts or spreads.
Probiotics Claim:improves good bacteria in bowel. Result: Not a single probiotic has received a positive opinion from the panel.
