Advanced Search

Scientific Opinion on the substantiation of health claims related to fluoride and maintenance of tooth mineralisation (ID 275, 276) and maintenance of bone (ID 371) pursuant to Article 13(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006

EFSA Journal 2009; 7(9):1212 [13 pp.]. doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2009.1212
  EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies Panel Members Jean-Louis Bresson, Albert Flynn, Marina Heinonen, Karin Hulshof, Hannu Korhonen, Pagona Lagiou, Martinus Løvik, Rosangela Marchelli, Ambroise Martin, Bevan Moseley, Hildegard Przyrembel, Seppo Salminen, Sean (J.J.) Strain, Stephan Strobel, Inge Tetens, Henk van den Berg, Hendrik van Loveren and Hans Verhagen Contact nda@efsa.europa.eu
Type: Opinion of the Scientific Committee/Scientific Panel On request from: European Commission Question number: EFSA-Q-2008-1062 , EFSA-Q-2008-1063 , EFSA-Q-2008-1158 Adopted: 02 July 2009 Published: 01 October 2009 Last updated: 26 November 2009. This version replaces the previous one/s. Affiliation: European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), Parma, Italy
Article
  • send
  • print
  • cite
Abstract

No abstract available

Summary

Following a request from the European Commission, the Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies was asked to provide a scientific opinion on a list of health claims pursuant to Article 13 of Regulation 1924/2006. This opinion addresses the scientific substantiation of health claims in relation to fluoride and the following claimed effects: maintenance of tooth mineralisation and maintenance of bone. The scientific substantiation is based on the information provided by the Member States in the consolidated list of Article 13 health claims and references that EFSA has received from Member States or directly from stakeholders.

The food constituent that is the subject of the health claims is fluoride, which is a well recognised nutrient and is measurable in foods by established methods. The Panel considers that fluoride is sufficiently characterised.

The Panel concludes that a cause and effect relationship has been established between the dietary intake of fluoride and maintenance of tooth mineralisation.

In order to bear the claim a food should be at least a source of fluoride as per Annex to Regulation 1924/2006. Such amounts can be easily consumed as part of a balanced diet. The target population is the general population.

The Panel concludes that a cause and effect relationship has not been established between the dietary intake of fluoride and maintenance of normal bone.

Keywords

Fluoride, tooth, mineralisation, bone, health claims.

See also