EFSA views oat beta-glucan positively

A scientific panel of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recently published its positive opinion on a disease risk reduction health claim dossier for oat beta-glucan, following an application CreaNutrition AG submitted pursuant to Article 14 of the EC regulation on nutrition and health claims.

According to the positive opinion of the EFSA panel for dietetic products, nutrition and allergies (NDA), food providing 3g of oat beta-glucan per day can bear the health claim: "Oat beta-glucan has been shown to lower/reduce blood cholesterol. Blood cholesterol lowering may reduce the risk of heart disease."

The health claim still needs to be approved by the EU Commission.

The Nutrition and Health Claim Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 stipulates that only approved health claims can be used in the marketing of foods throughout Europe.

The regulation aims to build confidence among European consumers based on strong scientific evidence and protect against misleading claims.