The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has backed Unilever’s claim that plant sterols can reduce cholesterol and lower the risk of heart attacks.
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Unilever currently adds plant sterols to a number of its foods, such as fat-based spreads and low-fat foods like milk and yoghurt.
According to an EFSA dietetic panel, an analysis of 41 trials showed that “an intake of 2-2.4 g/day of sterols added to margarine (or to mayonnaise, olive oil or butter in 7 trials) reduced average LDL-cholesterol by 8.9%”.
The finding was one of eight announced by the EU’s food safety monitoring body.
EFSA rejected health claims made about a-linolenic acid (ALA) and linoleic acid (LA) in relation to the growth and development of children. The evidence “does not establish that intakes of ALA and LA are inadequate for normal growth and development of children in the EU population”, EFSA said.
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By GlobalDataMeanwhile, on a claim that consumption of NeOpuntia reduced cardiovascular risk, the panel said: “a cause and effect relationship could not be established”.
