Palou A, Serra F, Pico C
Laboratori de Biologia Molecular, Nutrició i Biotecnologia, Departament de Biologia Fonamental i Ciències de la Salut, Universitat de les Illes Balears, Palma de Mallorca, Spain.
Eur J Clin Nutr. 2003 Sep;57 Suppl 1:S12-7. doi: 10.1038/sj.ejcn.1601822.
During the last 6 y, the European Union has undergone a profound qualitative change in the focus on food safety problems. In 1997, nine new scientific committees were created, including the Scientific Committee on Food (SCF) and the Scientific Steering Committee (SSC), and were put under the auspices of the Directorate General in charge of defending consumer interests and health. The process is foreseen to be completed by the incorporation in 2003 of all food safety activities of these committees into the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Among the immediate challenges in the near future are the scientific and technological developments and the regulatory measures for the so-called 'functional foods', which can positively affect the health and well-being of consumers. Functional foods are a recent phenomenon in Europe and are, as yet, not covered by any specific legislation. The two key aspects in the evaluation of functional foods are safety and efficacy. Whereas safety can be covered under different legislative umbrellas such as novel foods (NFs), foods for particular nutritional purposes, supplements, additives and others, the issue of evaluation of their efficacy is only at a very early stage since the criteria to establish the validity of 'health claims' has not been clearly addressed at a European level.
在过去6年里，欧盟在食品安全问题的关注重点上经历了深刻的质的变化。1997年，成立了9个新的科学委员会，包括食品科学委员会（SCF）和科学指导委员会（SSC），并由负责维护消费者利益和健康的总司主持。预计到2003年，这些委员会的所有食品安全活动将并入欧洲食品安全局（EFSA），这一进程将完成。在不久的将来，直接面临的挑战包括科技发展以及针对所谓“功能性食品”的监管措施，这些功能性食品能够对消费者的健康和幸福产生积极影响。功能性食品在欧洲是一种新现象，目前尚未有任何具体立法涵盖。评估功能性食品的两个关键方面是安全性和功效性。虽然安全性可以在不同的立法框架下涵盖，如新型食品（NFs）、特殊营养用途食品、补充剂、添加剂等，但由于在欧洲层面尚未明确解决确立“健康声称”有效性的标准问题，其功效评估问题才刚刚起步。
