Hi all,
Got myself stuck in a regs head scratcher here - caveat to all this is that I'm not a regulatory expert so hoping someone can help me out! This is a long question so thank you in advance to anyone who sticks with me :D
We are UK based and selling only in the UK. We produce a range of meals and snacks for children. Our products are labelled as either "9 months+" , "1-5 years" or "3 years+", depending on the product. None of our products are formulae/follow-on milk etc; they are all ready meal type products, or snacks such as oat bars etc.
I am aware of the UK Processed Cereal-Based Foods & Baby Foods for Infants & Yound Children Regulations 2003, which we use for determining which age claim we make (eg. if we don't meet the nutritional targets set out in Schedule 3: Essential Composition of Baby Foods, the products are labelled as 3 years+). Currently we just provide standard nutrition labels on pack (energy, fat, sat fat, carbs, sugar, protein, fibre, salt) - no micronutrient info.
We do a few nutrition claims for our products, mainly source/high fibre, source/high protein and low sugar/salt. We use the Nutritions & Health Claims Regulations 2007 for determining which of these can be used (which direct to the EU regs) - I don't love that we do this as there are no specific claims for children vs adults, it seems to be a one size fits all (ie. 'high fibre' = 6g fibre/100g, surely children need significantly less than an adult!) but we've been assured this is fine to do and the marketing team love it...
However, the marketing team have now asked if we can include micronutrient claims on pack as well, such as "Source of Vitamin C" etc. Since the vitamin/mineral claims in the 'standard' nutrition claim regulations are all linked to RDI amounts (ie. 15% of the Vitammin C RDI as listed in the Annex to Directive 90/496/EEC.), I am confused as to whether we are supposed to use the adult RDIs in this annex...as that seems dodgy?
Confusingly, I've found this UK guidance that states:
"It is our opinion that when making claims on products intended exclusively for children, like follow-on formulae, processed cereal-based foods and baby foods, labelling reference values for children as defined in specific legislation for these products (currently Directive 2006/141/EC and Directive 2006/125/EC) should be taken into account when considering what constitutes a significant amount" --> These reference values are in Annex V here.
Basically, the adult RDI for Vitamin C is 60mg and the children's value in the annex referenced in that UK guidance is 25mg. So to claim "Source of Vitamin C" on a product labelled as 'for 1-5 years old', I am assuming that the Vitamin C content should be 15% of 25mg? (15% = 'a significant amount' according to various regs.)
Apologies if this is really obvious but I find these regs such a minefield with so many different amendments/annexes etc. Personally I would rather we just not claim anything at all... but, I don't run marketing :D
Bonus question: for now, they just want to make simple nutrition claims ("Source of Vitamin D"), however I have been asked about whether we can then make a health claim ("Vitamin D is needed for normal growth and development of bone in children.") I understand that to make the health claim, we need the associated nutrition claim (ie. to be a source of vitamin D), however does anyone know if we are only able to use approved health claims which specifically mention children? On the register, there are only 9 approved claims that mention 'children'. Would we be able to use a claim such as "Vitamin C contributes to the normal function of the immune system" if we meet the source of Vitamin C requirement, even if this approved claim doesn't specifically mention children?
Bonus bonus question: What are people's thoughts around whether the vitamin/mineral % should be based on per 100g or per portion? As ever, the regs are vague:
- Per 100g or 100ml: For solid or liquid foods, the "significant amount" can be calculated per 100g (solids) or 100ml (liquids).
- Per Portion: Alternatively, the calculation can be based on a single portion size, provided the portion size is clearly stated on the packaging and is realistic.
- For foods consumed in small quantities (e.g., spreads, supplements), it may make more sense to evaluate the "significant amount" based on a single portion.
- For general foods, 100g is often used unless a single portion is specified."
