World’s First Flax Health Claim Approved, Thanks to Health Canada

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The claim is for lower cholesterol and applies to milled or whole flaxseed only.

Health Canada has officially become the first to approve a health claim for flaxseed. The claim is for lower cholesterol and applies to milled or whole flaxseed only. The Flax Council of Canada celebrated the news today, which Nutritional Outlookfirst reported back in December.

The health claim states that daily consumption of 5 tbsp (40 g) of ground flaxseed helps reduce cholesterol levels.

“This is a proud achievement, as Canada is the first country in the world to allow a health-related claim for flaxseed for use on food labels,” said William Hill, president of The Flax Council of Canada (Winnipeg, MB, Canada), in a press release.

The flaxseed health claim is just the tenth health claim for foods and supplements approved by Health Canada. “This claim is one of only a dozen deemed to meet the rigorous scientific criteria established by Health Canada,” Hill said.

“Now food manufacturers will be able to clearly state on labels the relationship between flax consumption and a reduction of cholesterol,” said Eric Fridfinnson, Board Chair of the Manitoba Flax Growers Association (Winnipeg, MB, Canada).

Canada is a leading producer of flaxseed.

 

Jennifer Grebow
Editor-in-Chief
Nutritional Outlook magazine jennifer.grebow@ubm.com

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