Health Claims On Food Labels - Law in The United States

Law in The United States

In the United States, these claims, usually referred to as "qualified health claims", are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration in the public interest. See 21 Code of Federal Regulations § 101.14.

On July 10, 2003, the Food and Drug Administration announced plans to permit the manufacturers of food products sold in the United States to make health claims on food labels which are supported by inconclusive evidence.

The rule in place before 2003 required "significant scientific consensus" before a claim could be made. A rule proposed in 2003 would have permitted characterization of health claims using a hierarchy of degrees of certainty:

• A: "There is significant scientific agreement for ."
• B: "Although there is some scientific evidence supporting, the evidence is not conclusive."
• C: "Some scientific evidence suggests . However, the F.D.A. has determined that this evidence is limited and not conclusive."
• D: "Very limited and preliminary scientific research suggests . The F.D.A. concludes that there is little scientific evidence supporting this claim."

See the Wikipedia article on dietary supplements for a description of current FDA policy.