60) The Committee recalled that the 26th Session had discussed the Proposed Draft Recommendations and asked the advice of the CCNFSDU on the scientific basis of health claims. The 21st Session of the CCNFSDU had a general discussion on this question and agreed that a specific working document should be prepared for further consideration at its 22nd Session (June 2000).
61) The Delegation of Malaysia expressed the view that consideration of this issue should be deferred until the CCNFSDU had reached a conclusion. Several delegations pointed out that the responsibility of the CCNFSDU was to establish the scientific basis of health claims but that CCFL should continue its work in order to define such claims and determine under which conditions they could be used.
62) The Delegation of Norway and the Observer from Consumers International reiterated their position that health claims should not be permitted as they were misleading for consumers, and that only a balanced diet would provide health benefits. The Observer from IACFO stated that it was premature to set a Codex standard for health claims and expressed concern about significant loopholes, declining standards for scientific substantiation, premarket approval in the only two regulatory models for health claims.
63) Some delegations expressed the view that the Committee should not develop guidelines concerning health claims as this should be left to the national authorities in view of their specific public health concerns.
64) The Observer from the EC informed the Committee that currently therapeutic claims were not allowed according to EC legislation but that a general debate on all relevant aspects of this issue was underway in the EU. The Delegation of France indicated that it had considered this question in detail at the national level and had prepared a document which might be of use to the Committee in future discussions on health claims.
65) The Committee agreed to establish an informal Working Group[11] to consider the comments received and incorporate them in the current text. Following its meeting during the session, the Chair of the Working Group, Dr. F.E. Scarborough (United States) informed the Committee that the current Draft Recommendations had been revised in the light of the comments received but that due to time constraints the document still required detailed consideration. The Delegation of Canada proposed that in order to facilitate the revision of the text a Working Group should be established prior to the next session to consider the comments received in detail and achieve consensus on the definitions and conditions for use of health claims
Status of the Proposed Draft Recommendations for the Use of Health Claims
66) The Committee agreed to return the Proposed Draft Recommendations, as amended during the present session to Step 3 for further comments (see Appendix VII) and consideration by the next session. It was also agreed that a Working Group, coordinated by the United States and Canada, in cooperation with France and the United Kingdom, would meet immediately prior to the session to facilitate consideration of this matter, the exact arrangements to be determined by the host country.
