1.13. Carbohydrate foods and beverages (ID 458, 459, 470, 471, 654, 1277, 1278, 1279)

The food constituent that is the subject of the health claims is carbohydrate foods and beverages related to the following claimed effects: physical capacity and performance in relation to short-term and endurance exercise (including endurance capacity and performance during the subsequent exercise bout after strenuous exercise) by contributing to the replenishment of muscle and liver glycogen stores, reduction in rated perceived exertion/effort during exercise, and recovery from muscle fatigue after exercise. The clarifications provided by Member States and the wordings and conditions of use proposed in relation to these claims, refer to ―foods for sports people under the Directive 89/398/EEC‖, to ―metabolisable carbohydrates‖, to ―low or high GI carbohydrates‖, to particular carbohydrates (e.g. glucose, glucose polymers and sucrose), and to ―carbohydrate rich diets‖.
The Panel notes that ―foods for sports people under the Directive 89/398/EEC‖ are currently not regulated in the European Union, and that Council Directive 89/398/EEC7 does not provide any information that could be used for the characterisation of such foods, either in general or regarding their carbohydrate content. The Panel also notes that no information has been provided which could be used for the characterisation of ―carbohydrate-rich diets‖ in relation to the claimed effects.
The claims considered in this section also refer to carbohydrate-containing foods and beverages with a high (vs. a low) glycaemic index (GI). Taking into account that the chemical nature of the carbohydrate-containing foods and beverages which are the subject of the health claims has not been defined, that the GI of different carbohydrate-containing foods or beverages depends on the chemical and physical properties of the particular foods or beverages under consideration, and that high (vs. low) GI carbohydrate-containing foods and beverages have not been defined in the information provided in relation to the standardisation of the testing method, the Panel considers that carbohydrate-containing foods and beverages with a high GI are not sufficiently characterised in relation to the claimed effects (EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products Nutrition and Allergies (NDA), 2010b).
The Panel assumes that ―metabolisable carbohydrates‖ refers to digestible, available or glycaemic carbohydrates which are digested and absorbed in the human small intestine providing carbohydrates to body cells. Main glycaemic carbohydrates in the diet are glucose and fructose (monosaccharides), sucrose and lactose (disaccharides), malto-oligosaccharides and starch (polysaccharides). The rate of digestion and absorption of available carbohydrates in foods and beverages is widely variable, and depends on the chemical structure, physical properties and macronutrient composition of the food or beverage in which carbohydrates are contained (EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products Nutrition and Allergies (NDA), 2010a).
The vast majority of the references provided for the scientific substantiation of these claims addressed the effects of the amount, type and timing of administration of different carbohydrate-containing foods, beverages (usually as carbohydrate-containing electrolyte solutions), meals and diets on the claimed effects. Most of the human intervention studies provided compared the effects of various isoenergetic beverages containing different types of available carbohydrates (e.g. sucrose vs. maltodextrin vs. glucose vs. fructose vs. glucose polymers, or in different combinations) relative to other isoenergetic carbohydrate-containing beverages or to a hypoenergetic, carbohydrate-free placebo. The remaining studies compared the effects of low vs. high GI foods and meals, the effects of the timing of administration of carbohydrate-containing foods and beverages prior, during and after exercise, and the effects of different amounts and different timings of administration of carbohydrate-containing foods and beverages on the replenishment of glycogen stores before and after exercise.
7 Council Directive 89/398/EEC of 3 May 1989 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to foodstuffs intended for particular nutritional uses. OJ L 186, 30.6.1989, p. 27-32.
The evidence provided by consensus opinions/reports from authoritative bodies and reviews shows that macronutrient recommendations for athletes as % of total energy intake are not different from those for the general population (IoM, 2005), albeit higher amounts of carbohydrates may be required before, during and after exercise to maintain or improve exercise capacity and performance along with adequate hydration. An opinion on carbohydrate/electrolyte solutions and endurance performance has already been assessed with a favourable outcome (EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products Nutrition and Allergies (NDA), 2011a). However, whether and to what extent the consumption of available carbohydrate-containing foods and beverages influences exercise capacity/performance, perception of fatigue during exercise, and recovery from exercise may depend inter alia on the amount (absolute and relative to energy needs), form (solid vs. liquid) and type (e.g. rate of digestibility and availability) of the carbohydrates consumed, on other components of carbohydrate-containing foods and beverages (e.g. water, macro- and micronutrient composition and dietary fibre), on the intensity, duration and type of physical exercise performed, and on the time of administration (Burke and Hawley, 2006; Jeukendrup, 2004; Rodriguez et al., 2009; SCF, 2001).
The Panel notes that carbohydrate foods and beverages have not been sufficiently characterised in the information provided with respect to the composition and conditions of use for the proposed claimed effects.
The Panel concludes that a cause and effect relationship cannot be established between the consumption of carbohydrate foods and beverages and the claimed effects considered in this section.

Oświadczenia zdrowotne

ID 1278 - Carbohydrate foods and beverages

1.13. Carbohydrate foods and beverages (ID 458, 459, 470, 471, 654, 1277, 1278, 1279)

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