FIBRE
21. The Committee recognized that the following issues should be addressed when defining the condition for claims on fibre: the definition of fibre, the method of analysis, the reference to the Nutrient reference Values (NRV); and the discrepancies in the results obtained when declaration was made per 100 g or per 100 kcal.
22. Some delegations were in favour of setting a condition for making a claim on fibre per 100 kcal as this would include many foods which were recognized as sources of fibre, especially fruit and vegetables, whereas they might be excluded under another system. Other delegations supported the condition for claim per 100 g, which would be consistent with the expression of nutrients included in part A of the Table. It was also proposed by Brazil to include a reference to fibre figures at “source” 1.5 g and “high” 3.0 g per 100 ml to take into account liquids such as fruit juices. Some delegations proposed to refer to the serving size in order to avoid the inconsistencies identified when referring to 100 kcal or 100 g.
23. The Committee recognized that since there was no agreement on the definition of fibre and the method of determination, no decision could be taken at this stage but it would be useful to proceed with consideration of this issue. The Committee agreed to establish an informal Working Group[7] chaired by the United Kingdom to consider the comments and proposals received from governments and determine how to progress further as regards claims related to fibre. The Committee noted that the informal Working Group had not come to a conclusion but had initiated work to identify the areas which required further consideration and agreed to pursue its consultations as required by correspondence, with a view to establishing a scientific basis for the fibre levels in the Table.
PROTEIN - VITAMINS AND MINERALS
24. Some delegations indicated that the classification of certain foods as liquid or solid created some difficulties to determine whether they were sources of some nutrients; other delegations pointed out that the reference to energy (100 kcal) instead of quantity (100 g or ml) would solve that problem.
25. The Delegation of South Africa proposed to combine the references to energy and to quantity in order to avoid, foods which are not recognized sources of protein or high in protein to be classified as such.
26. The Committee discussed the use of the value for “high” and generally agreed that it should be two times the values for “source”. The Observer from Consumers International expressed the view that the value for high protein should correspond to three times the value for “source” as this would correspond to consumer perception. The Delegation of Spain while agreeing with a scientific basis of condition for claim noted that this information was not always sufficiently clear to consumers. Other delegations pointed out that the current ratio between “high” and “source” was consistent with scientific studies based on food consumption surveys in their countries.
27. Some delegations expressed the view that the NRV should be updated, as the values in the Table referred to them. However the Committee agreed that as regards nutrition claims, the issue to be addressed was not the actual figures for NRVs but the principles for the establishment of conditions in the Table.
28. Some delegations pointed out that the expression per serving should be taken into account as it was current practice in their countries; this should be reflected in the conditions for claims in the Table, as agreed at the last session of the Committee and noted in the Commission’s report. The Committee recognized that it was not possible to determine the size of servings as this differed widely according to the countries and the foods considered, but agreed that a reference to expression per serving should be included in the Table. In order to facilitate discussion on the values for both protein and vitamins and minerals, the Committee agreed to establish an informal Working Group chaired by France, especially to consider the proposal of the Delegation of the United States for a reference to servings and direct from the Codex Alimentarius Commission to undertake further work on the serving sizes (ALINORM 97/37 paras 50).
29. Findings of the informal working Group were presented by Professor Rey (France) who informed the Committee that the Working Group, except for South Africa and France, had reached consensus on the issue raised. The Committee expressed its appreciation to the Working Group and agreed with its recommendations to include the following values, in addition to the expression per 100 kcal and per 100 g/ml:
- 10% of the NRV per serving for “source of protein”with a footnote to the effect that the serving size was to be determined at national level. The reference to “high” as two times the value for “source” was also confirmed both for protein and vitamins and minerals. South Africa and France agreed to a revised footnote, but did not agree to a revised conditions for protein.
- 15% of NRV per serving for “source of vitamins and minerals”
STATUS OF THE DRAFT TABLE OF CONDITIONS (GUIDELINES ON USE OF NUTRITION CLAIMS)
30. The Committee agreed to advance the provisions on Protein and Vitamins and Minerals in the Table to Step 8 for adoption by the 23rd Session of the Commission (see Appendix II) and to return the provisions on Fibre to Step 6 for further comments and consideration by the next session (see Appendix III).
