Published in the September 2006 issue of Nutrition & Dietetics- the official Journal of the Dietitians Association of Australia, including the Journal of the New Zealand Dietetic Association – set out to obtain preliminary information about the current use of health claims on the Internet and their respective level of compliance with existing regulations.
A total of 1068 websites associated with the top 20 food-processing companies in Australia were surveyed, with an additional 683 websites for food products found to carry health claims in previous studies of product labels and magazine advertisements.
Lead author and Accredited Practicing Dietitian Associate Professor Peter Williams said, “This provides a snapshot and useful baseline data for regulators, as the results describe food categories that might commonly contain health claims and the respective website locations where such claims are commonly made.”
The startlingly high number of non-complaint claims uncovered in this study is a probable indication that current regulations are not being enforced. Given that current regulations are much simpler and easy to enforce than the soon to be announced regulations allowing some health claims, the heat is on Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), the national food regulator, to protect the public against illegal health claims about food.
Dr. Williams added, “When introduced, the new standard will apply to product labels and all areas of associated advertising – including the Internet. We must give a higher priority to monitoring the use of health claims on this medium in the future.”
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This study is published in Nutrition & Dietetics (2006, 63: 139 - 147). Media wishing to receive a PDF or to interview the authors, please contact alina.boey@asia.blackwellpublishing.com .
About Nutrition & Dietetics
Nutrition & Dietetics is Australia’s leading peer-reviewed journal in its field. Covering all aspects of food, nutrition and dietetics, the Journal provides a forum for the reporting, discussion and development of scientifically credible knowledge related to human nutrition and dietetics. Widely respected in Australia and the rest of the world, Nutrition & Dietetics publishes original research, methodology analyses, commentaries and viewpoints, research reviews, book reviews and much more. Nutrition & Dietetics is the scientific journal of the Dietitians Association of Australia including the Journal of the New Zealand Dietetic Association.
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