12. The Committee recalled that the 23rd Session of the Commission had returned the Draft Table of Conditions for Protein and Vitamins and Minerals to Step 6 for further comments and consideration.
Protein – Vitamins and Minerals
13. The Committee had an exchange of views to decide whether its earlier decision on the conditions for claims concerning Protein and Vitamins and Minerals should be confirmed or revised.
14. The Delegation of the United States expressed the view that the expression of nutrient contents per serving should be retained as an option, the serving size to be determined at the national level when used. This position was supported by several delegations, which pointed out that the Guidelines should take into account current practices in different countries. Some delegations pointed out that serving size should be defined at the national level.
15. The Delegation of India, supported by several delegations, stressed the need to retain the expression per 100g as this provided a clear basis for comparison for consumers, whereas the size of the serving might differ widely from country to country. The Delegation also stated that the condition for high protein content should be higher than two times the value for source and proposed to consider two to three times the value for source.
16. The Committee noted that a NRV for protein of 50 g and several NRVs for vitamins and minerals were included in the Guidelines on Nutrition Labelling (CAC/GL 2-1985, Rev. 1 1991). Some delegations indicated that the expression per 100 kcal was not consistent with Part A of the Table. It was also pointed out that the energy content was expressed in kilocalories in the current text and that the values in kilojoules should be included.
17. The Observer from the European Community supported the reference to 15% of the NRV per 100g for vitamins and minerals but expressed the view that there was no justification for the value of 7.5% of NRV for liquids and that further clarification would be required on this question.
18. Several delegations pointed out that the consensus achieved at the last session resulted from detailed discussion and took into account current practices in member countries concerning the expression of nutrient contents. The Committee recognized that different expressions of conditions for claims were used at the national level and that the Table should cover them all, with the understanding that these expressions were consistent for the purposes of expressing claims. The Committee agreed that its earlier decision represented an acceptable compromise and allowed member countries to provide clear information to consumers in a form which was readily understandable at the national level.
Status of the Guidelines for Use of Nutrition Claims - Draft Table of Conditions for Nutrient Contents Claims (Protein Vitamins and Minerals)
19. The Committee agreed to advance the Draft Table to Step 8 for adoption by the 24th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (see Appendix II).
Fibre
20. The Committee recalled that a Working Group co-ordinated by the United Kingdom had been established at the last session to consider the conditions for claims concerning fibre. The Delegation of the United Kingdom indicated that the Working Group had examined several relevant issues related to the definition and determination of fibre; however it had not been possible to reach consensus on these questions due to significant difference of views between the countries concerned.
21. The Committee considered the opportunity of applying a practical approach to this problem and using a definition of fibre corresponding to the AOAC method, which was the official method in Codex, fully validated and endorsed by the CCMAS; it was noted that this method was also currently used by many countries at the national level. However, it was pointed out that this method did not measure fructo-oligosaccharides. Some delegations expressed the view that the results obtained with this method could be interpreted differently from one country to another and that it would not solve the problems related to the definition.
22. The Committee also noted that the current definition included in the Guidelines on Nutrition Labelling covered edible plant and animal material and several delegations supported the deletion of a reference to substances of animal origin. The Committee did not come to a conclusion on the revision of the current definition of fibre.
23. The Representative of FAO indicated that the FAO/WHO Expert Consultation on Carbohydrates in Human Nutrition[5] had considered several aspects of fibre in human nutrition, including health benefits and current methods of analysis. The Delegation of the United States noted that there was currently no NRV or recommended intake for fibre and informed the Committee that its National Academy of Science was undertaking a detailed study in this area, which would be available within one year. The Delegation of Sweden indicated that studies were ongoing in their country on the definition and methods of analysis for fibre.
24. The Committee recognized that it was not possible to reach consensus at this stage on the definition and determination of fibre and agreed that a Circular Letter should be sent to request additional comments and scientific information from member countries on the conditions for claims, the recommended intake and the method of analysis for fibre.
25. The Delegation of Brazil noted that the current text referred only to the expression of the claim for fibre for solids and proposed to include provisions for its expression for liquids, in order to take into account fruits juices containing significant amount of fibre.
26. The Committee agreed to refer to dietary fibre instead of fibre, as proposed by the Delegation of Sweden referring to comments of Japan presented in CX/NFSDU 00/3-Add.1 and supported by India and some other delegations to ensure consistency with the definition included in the Guidelines on Nutrition Labelling.
Status of the Guidelines for Use of Nutrition Claims - Draft Table of Conditions for Nutrient Contents Claims (Dietary Fibre)
27. The Committee agreed to return the Draft Conditions for Nutrient Content Claims for Dietary Fibre to Step 6 for further comments and consideration by the next session (see Appendix III).
