Keywords:  health claim, risk analysis, botanicals, traditions

"The role of non-scientific data in risk analysis- The case of botanical health"

Food product advertisements are only allowed when the health benefits are proven. Scientific evidence is essential in the substantiation of health claims. For botanical food products, the substantiation documents are not yet evaluated. There is an ongoing discussion since 2012 on the possibilities for substantiation with evidence on the traditional use of these products. Longstanding and traditional use would then be sufficient to prove a botanical has beneficial properties for health. In this thesis, it was studied whether substantiation of health benefits with evidence on traditional use is possible within the current regulatory framework of health claims. The different components of the current regulatory framework are analysed to further clarify the different types of evidence. This analysis showed that evidence on traditional use and scientific studies cannot be regarded and valued the same. Additionally, it became apparent that adjustments in the regulatory framework remain a political decision, not a scientific outcome. For botanical food products, it can be concluded that substantiation of health claims with evidence on traditional use is possible, but not expedient. It is important that a political decision is made as soon as possible on the substantiation of such claims.

Language: Dutch

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