Caffeine Health Claims on Sports Supplement Labeling. Analytical Assessment According to EFSA Scientific Opinion and International Evidence and Criteria
Caffeine is a food supplement widely consumed by athletes, but it has not been established. So far, the veracity of their labeling in terms of the dosage and cause/effect relationship aimed at the consumer. The aim is to analyze the health claims and the dosage presented on the labeling of caffeine...
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doaj-dc353701331a4d99a5bb3075f9b013022021-04-06T23:03:43ZengMDPI AGMolecules1420-30492021-04-01262095209510.3390/molecules26072095Caffeine Health Claims on Sports Supplement Labeling. Analytical Assessment According to EFSA Scientific Opinion and International Evidence and CriteriaPedro Estevan Navarro0Isabel Sospedra1Alejandro Perales2Cristina González-Díaz3Rubén Jiménez-Alfageme4Sonia Medina5Angel Gil-Izquierdo6José Miguel Martínez-Sanz7Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Alicante, 03690 Alicante, SpainNursing Department, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Alicante, 03690 Alicante, SpainCommunication Sciences and Sociology, Faculty of Communication Sciences, Rey Juan Carlos University, 28933 Madrid, SpainPsychology and Social Communication Department, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Alicante, 03690 Alicante, SpainFaculty of Health Sciences, University of Alicante, 03690 Alicante, SpainQuality, Safety, and Bioactivity of Plant Foods Group, Department of Food Science and Technology, CEBAS-CSIC, University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, SpainQuality, Safety, and Bioactivity of Plant Foods Group, Department of Food Science and Technology, CEBAS-CSIC, University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, SpainNursing Department, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Alicante, 03690 Alicante, SpainCaffeine is a food supplement widely consumed by athletes, but it has not been established. So far, the veracity of their labeling in terms of the dosage and cause/effect relationship aimed at the consumer. The aim is to analyze the health claims and the dosage presented on the labeling of caffeine supplements and to evaluate if they follow the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and international criteria. A descriptive cross-sectional study of a sample of caffeine supplements was carried out. The search was done through the Amazon and Google Shopping web portals. In order to assess the adequacy of the health claims, the guidelines of reference established by European Food Safety Authority were compared to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, International Olympic Committee, and Australian Institute of Sport guidelines; in addition, recent systematic reviews were addressed. A review of labels of 42 caffeine supplements showed that, in less than 3% of the products were the health claims supported by the recommendations and by the labeled quantity of caffeine. The claims that fully complied the recommendations were, “improves or increases endurance performance,” “improves strength performance,” or “improves short-term performance.” In most cases, the recommended dosage was 200 mg/day for these products, which is the minimum for the caffeine effects to be declared. The rest of the health claims were not adequate or need to be modified. Most of the health claims identified indicated an unproven cause and effect, which constitutes consumer fraud, and so must be modified or eliminated.https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/26/7/2095nutritionsportcaffeineperformancehealth claimsfraud |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Pedro Estevan Navarro Isabel Sospedra Alejandro Perales Cristina González-Díaz Rubén Jiménez-Alfageme Sonia Medina Angel Gil-Izquierdo José Miguel Martínez-Sanz |
spellingShingle |
Pedro Estevan Navarro Isabel Sospedra Alejandro Perales Cristina González-Díaz Rubén Jiménez-Alfageme Sonia Medina Angel Gil-Izquierdo José Miguel Martínez-Sanz Caffeine Health Claims on Sports Supplement Labeling. Analytical Assessment According to EFSA Scientific Opinion and International Evidence and Criteria Molecules nutrition sport caffeine performance health claims fraud |
author_facet |
Pedro Estevan Navarro Isabel Sospedra Alejandro Perales Cristina González-Díaz Rubén Jiménez-Alfageme Sonia Medina Angel Gil-Izquierdo José Miguel Martínez-Sanz |
author_sort |
Pedro Estevan Navarro |
title |
Caffeine Health Claims on Sports Supplement Labeling. Analytical Assessment According to EFSA Scientific Opinion and International Evidence and Criteria |
title_short |
Caffeine Health Claims on Sports Supplement Labeling. Analytical Assessment According to EFSA Scientific Opinion and International Evidence and Criteria |
title_full |
Caffeine Health Claims on Sports Supplement Labeling. Analytical Assessment According to EFSA Scientific Opinion and International Evidence and Criteria |
title_fullStr |
Caffeine Health Claims on Sports Supplement Labeling. Analytical Assessment According to EFSA Scientific Opinion and International Evidence and Criteria |
title_full_unstemmed |
Caffeine Health Claims on Sports Supplement Labeling. Analytical Assessment According to EFSA Scientific Opinion and International Evidence and Criteria |
title_sort |
caffeine health claims on sports supplement labeling. analytical assessment according to efsa scientific opinion and international evidence and criteria |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Molecules |
issn |
1420-3049 |
publishDate |
2021-04-01 |
description |
Caffeine is a food supplement widely consumed by athletes, but it has not been established. So far, the veracity of their labeling in terms of the dosage and cause/effect relationship aimed at the consumer. The aim is to analyze the health claims and the dosage presented on the labeling of caffeine supplements and to evaluate if they follow the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and international criteria. A descriptive cross-sectional study of a sample of caffeine supplements was carried out. The search was done through the Amazon and Google Shopping web portals. In order to assess the adequacy of the health claims, the guidelines of reference established by European Food Safety Authority were compared to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, International Olympic Committee, and Australian Institute of Sport guidelines; in addition, recent systematic reviews were addressed. A review of labels of 42 caffeine supplements showed that, in less than 3% of the products were the health claims supported by the recommendations and by the labeled quantity of caffeine. The claims that fully complied the recommendations were, “improves or increases endurance performance,” “improves strength performance,” or “improves short-term performance.” In most cases, the recommended dosage was 200 mg/day for these products, which is the minimum for the caffeine effects to be declared. The rest of the health claims were not adequate or need to be modified. Most of the health claims identified indicated an unproven cause and effect, which constitutes consumer fraud, and so must be modified or eliminated. |
topic |
nutrition sport caffeine performance health claims fraud |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/26/7/2095 |
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