Scientific Opinion on the substantiation of health claims related to nuts and
essential fatty acids (omega-3/omega-6) in nut oil (ID 741, 1129, 1130, 1305,
1407) pursuant to Article 13(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006[sup]1[/sup]
EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA)2, 3
European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), Parma, Italy
Słowa kluczowe:
Nut
health claims
nut oil
omega-3 fatty acids
omega-6 fatty acids
1. Charakterystyka żywności / składnika
The foods/food constituents that are the subject of this opinion are “nuts”, “nuts - peanuts and tree nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, pecans, pistachios and walnuts), excluding brazil, macadamia and cashew nuts” and “essential fatty acids (omega-3/omega-6) in nut oil” related to the following claimed effects: “anti-inflammatory”, “heart health”, “weight management” and “healthy cardiovascular system”.
A nut is an indehiscent (not opening at maturity) dry fruit with one seed and a thick, hard pericarp (shell). A true nut also has a cup at its base (Stern, 1991). Another definition of a nut is a dry indehiscent fruit that develops from a compound gynoecium (a compound pistil) in which all but one ovule degenerates during development, and which has a hard pericarp at maturity (Mauseth, 1995).
Examples of nuts are chestnuts and hazelnuts. The term nut is also used to refer to various hard-shelled fruits or seeds such as peanuts, which are seeds of the groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) belonging to the legume bean family. Pistachio nuts and cashew nuts are seeds. Coconuts, walnuts, pecans and almonds are drupes. Botanical fruit classification is rather inexact (Foster and Gifford, 1974). Some botanists call a walnut a true nut, others call it a drupe.
The health claims considered in this opinion refer to nuts as including peanuts, almonds, hazelnuts, pecans, pistachios, and walnuts and their oils. These nuts differ in fatty acid composition, protein and fibre content, which could have an impact on the claimed effects (i.e. blood pressure, blood cholesterol and body weight). The references provided for the scientific substantiation of these claims used walnuts (e.g. Sabate et al., 2005), almonds (e.g. Wien et al., 2003), peanuts (e.g. Alper and Mattes, 2002), pecans (e.g. Morgan and Clayshulte, 2000; Rajaram et al., 2001), or different combinations of nuts (e.g. Jenkins et al., 2006; McManus et al., 2001; Mukuddem-Petersen et al., 2005; Pelkman et al., 2004) which were often not better specified, either in addition to the usual diet or as a replacement of dietary fats (e.g. olive oil). The Panel notes that the information provided does not allow defining the amount and type of nuts that should be consumed daily to obtain the claimed effects.
The Panel considers that the foods/food constituents, nuts and essential fatty acids (omega-3/omega-6) in nut oil, which are the subject of this opinion, are not sufficiently characterised in relation to the claimed effects considered in this opinion.
The Panel concludes that a cause and effect relationship cannot be established between the consumption of nuts or essential fatty acids (omega-3/omega-6) in nut oil and the claimed effects considered in this opinion.
