GI Meeting Hears Health Claims Directive Warning

Delegates attending a Glycaemic Index (GI) meeting organised by Reading Scientific Services Ltd (RSSL) were warned that claims relating to GI health claims will have no legal status unless GI is listed within the Annexe to the Annexe of the forthcoming European Health Claims Directive. The food industry has only 18months to submit its evidence supporting the use of that a low GI information in the promotion of productsdiet and low GI food products have any health benefits.

The meeting took place in London on June 29th and discussed various issues surrounding the measurement and use of the GI system.

According to Simon Hails, who heads the GI testing service at RSSL, the issue of the European Health Claims Directive will have to be resolved for GI to make a big impact on the food industry and on consumer attitudes. "In other parts of the world consumers have become familiar with the GI system, and recognise that athe low GI option can have certain benefits over a high GI version of the same product. However, it's unclear what the implications will be for food sold in Europe if the health claims made for a low GI dietare not included in the first publication of the European Health Claims Directive, which is due to come out in January 2007. Submissions will be invited for the new Directive, sometime after January 2006. It will be in the interest of those food companies that have identified strong market potential for low GI and low-sugar products to ensure that they have a clear claim and strong evidence to support the inclusion of GI claims within the new Directive."