Guide for the support of health claims in foods.

During the past years there is a rising demand for improving the quality and nutritional value of foods that has encouraged the research and development of new food ingredients and products. Nevertheless, to date, many of the health claim applications evaluating EFSA have been rejected. Hence, it is critical for companies involved in the development of functional foods to be aware of the full flowchart needed for the scientific support of a health claim from the very beginning. This series of articles summarize the conclusions presented in July 2014 during the workshop INCOMES devoted to clarify methodologies for scientific support of health claims in foods/ingredients, in the framework of the XVI Reunión de la Sociedad Española de Nutrición, and are intended to be a practical tool, outlining the sections that an application for authorization of a health claim should contain.