And, in an effort to speed more of this kind of information to consumers, the Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act of 1997 includes a provision that is intended to expedite the process that establishes the scientific basis for health claims. Although food manufacturers may use health claims to market their products, the intended purpose of health claims is to benefit consumers by providing information on healthful eating patterns that may help reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis, high blood pressure, dental cavities, or certain birth defects. Health claims are among the various types of claims allowed in food labeling. They show a relationship between a nutrient or other substances in a food and a disease or health-related condition. They can be used on conventional foods or dietary supplements.
Health claims can include implied claims, which indirectly assert a diet-disease relationship.
However, all labels bearing implied claims must also bear the full health claim. Public Confidence Health claims became a hot issue in the 1980s, when food marketing strategies began reflecting increased recognition of the role of nutrition in promoting health. At that time, some of the claims used were considered misleading, and many consumers began to doubt their truthfulness. NLEA's intent, in part, was to rein in exaggerated claims by reinforcing FDA's authority to regulate health claims and to require that claims be supported by sufficient scientific evidence. According to Brenda Derby, a statistician in the consumer studies branch of FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, a 1996 FDA label-reading study of more than 1,400 grocery shoppers found that, in general, the effectiveness of health claims is similar to that of nutrient claims and had no greater effect than nutrient claims alone in influencing shoppers' purchasing decisions.