Survey of health claims for Australian foods made on Internet sites.

Abstract

Objective: Australia and New Zealand are currently preparing a new food standard code, which will allow the use of health claims on food products and in associated advertising. The aim of the present study was to obtain preliminary information about the current use of health claims on the Internet and the level of compliance of these claims with existing regulations.

Methods: From August to October 2005 a survey was conducted of 1068 websites associated with the top 20 food-processing companies in Australia, and an additional 683 websites for food products found to carry health claims in previous studies of product labels and magazine advertisements. The results were compared with those from a 2003 survey of health claims on the labels of 7850 products.

Results: The survey found that 14.5% of food product websites carried a health claim, and 40.7% and 37.0% of products previously identified as carrying claims on product labels or in magazines, respectively, had Internet claims. Of claims 21.4% were located directly on the food product webpage, but the majority (78.6%) were on associated links within the manufacturer's website. Many of the claims (19.7%) were high-level or therapeutic claims not permitted by current food standards.

Conclusions: Health claims are not being made more frequently on websites compared with product labels, but there is a greater prevalence of high-level and therapeutic claims made on the Internet. In future, food standards enforcement will need to give greater priority to monitoring the use of health claims on the Internet.

Key words: advertising, food standard, health claim, Internet.

INTRODUCTION

The use of health claims for foods has been a contentious issue. (1-3) Although nutrient content and function claims are commonly found on food products throughout the world, the regulation of such claims varies widely. (4) Currently in Australia and New Zealand nutrient content claims and some health maintenance claims are allowed, but other types of health claims, with the exception of those concerning the benefit of maternal consumption of folate in regard to preventing neural tube defects, are prohibited. (5) However, Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) is now developing a new food standard that will allow the regulated use of health claims. (6)

When introduced, the new standard will apply to product labels and all areas of associated advertising, one of which is the Internet. Small amounts of research have been conducted into the use of health claims in magazines (7,8) and on product labels, (9-12) but to date no research has been performed into the use of claims on the Internet in Australia. Despite this lack of research, it has been the experience in countries other than Australia that a large number of dubious and unfounded health claims are being made on the Internet, (13-16) and concern regarding the need for tighter regulation has been expressed. (13)

The present study aimed to obtain preliminary data about the presence of health claims on the Internet sites of the top 20 food-processing companies in Australia advertising food products. Additionally, the study examined the presence of health claims on Internet sites advertising foods shown to carry health claims either on their labels, or in magazine advertisements as determined by previous surveys. It also investigated the location of claims within the websites.

METHODS

To determine the level and type of health claims made on the Internet, the search engine Google was used to conduct a targeted search for food products that were either:

1 Advertised on the websites of the top 20 food-processing companies in Australia, as identified in the US Foreign Agricultural Service Report--'Australia Food Processing Ingredients Sector, Food Processing Sector, 2000'. (17)

2 Identified as carrying high, general or therapeutic claims in a survey undertaken in 2003, which surveyed 7850 food products for sale in supermarkets and a sample of health food and Asian food stores in New South Wales, (11) or

3 Promoted in print media advertisements for food containing a health or therapeutic claim, found in a survey of Australia's top-selling 30 magazines conducted in the first six months of 2005 (unpublished data, 2005).

For the purpose of data collection, all claims made on the food product webpage were recorded. Also recorded was any information from the same website located on a different webpage, and any information found on separate websites provided as links on the original food product webpage.

Where information regarding the food product was located on the manufacturer's website, but on webpages separate to that of the food product, only information located within a maximum of two mouse clicks (i.e. two links away from the original webpage) was recorded. Where information was located on a link separate to the manufacturer's website, only information located within one click was recorded.

The following information from each food product and food manufacturer's website visited was recorded in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet:

* Food product category, using the same 47 food categories used in the 2003 Australian food product survey, (11) with the addition of a miscellaneous category (including nuts and confectionery)

* Product and brand name

* Manufacturer name

* Internet address and date accessed

* Website location of claim

* Links to other websites (e.g. a disease-related organisation website)

* Exact wording of health claim/s and any implied claims (e.g. symbols)

Where health or therapeutic claims were found, each claim was organised into one of the 16 claim categories as defined in the FSANZ Initial Assessment Report to Proposal P293. (6) Definitions and examples of each claim category have been given elsewhere. (11) The claims were analysed for the following:

* Percentage of products with health claims in each food category

* Number and type of claim/s made

* Compliance with current food regulations (determined by assessment with current regulations as outlined by FSANZ in Proposal 293 (6) and Standard 1.1A.2 (Transitional Standard--Health Claims) of the Food Standards Code) (5)

For the purpose of the present survey, only general, high and therapeutic health claims were reported. Nutrient content or general descriptions (e.g. 'healthy' or 'nutritious') made in association with food products were not included in the data collection.

RESULTS

Frequency of claims

The search of the websites associated with the top 20 food-processing companies in Australia located a total of 1068 food products. A website health or therapeutic claim was identified in association with 155 (14.5%) of these products (Table 1). The average number of Internet claims per product was 0.3, with spreads having the highest average number of claims per product (3.2). Energy drinks was the sole food category in which an Internet claim was associated with 100% of its products.

Table 2 highlights the types of health claims found according to the P293 claim classification framework. (6) The majority of claims found were general-level claims (77.2%), followed by high-level claims (19.4%), endorsement claims (3.1%) then therapeutic claims (0.3%). The largest portion of general-level claims were nutrient function (57.8% of all claims), and of the high-level claims, risk reduction claims in relation to a serious disease or condition were the most frequent (10.4%).

Of the endorsement claims found, the New South Wales School Canteen Project endorsed six of the nine products and the remaining three products were endorsed by sporting personalities: one iron man, one iron woman and one footballer. Two implied claims were recorded: one product was stamped with the 'Happy Tooth Logo' the logo of Tooth Friendly International and the other carried the Osteoarthritis Australia (O.A.) Bone stamp of approval.

Internet versus food labels and magazine advertisements--number of claims

The 2003 Australian food label survey identified 1099 products as carrying health claims. (11) Of those 1099 products 518 were additional products to those found in the search of the top 20 food-processing companies in Australia. Of these 518 products, 372 had accessible websites. Health or therapeutic claims were found in association with 211 (56.7%) of the 372 products (Table 3).

Of products with a website, the average number of claims per product was 3.5. At least one website health or therapeutic claim was found for all products in the juice (cold), rice, soups and sports drinks categories, and juice (cold) was the food category identified as having the highest average number of claims per product (9.7).

The 2005 magazine survey identified 396 food product advertisements as carrying health claims. Of the 396 products 165 were additional products to those found in the search of the top 20 food-processing companies in Australia. Of these 165 products, 72 had accessible websites. Health or therapeutic claims were found in association with 61 (84.7%) of the 72 products (Table 4).

The average number of claims per product with a website was 12.2 with teas having the highest average number of website claims per product (21.0). A health or therapeutic claim was found in association with all of the products in the breakfast cereals, cake mixes, canned seafood, drink bases, milk and teas categories.

Internet versus food labels and magazine advertisements--type of claims

Of the website claims associated with foods found to carry claims on labels in the 2003 food product survey, 74.9% were general level, 23.0% were high level, 1.8% were therapeutic and 0.2% were endorsement. The general-level claim type most commonly found was nutrient function (60.5%) and the high-level claim type most commonly found was risk reduction claims in relation to a serious disease or condition (20.6%).

Similarly, the website claims associated with the products identified in the 2005 magazine survey also revealed general-level claims to be the most common claim type, comprising 39.9% of the total claims, followed by therapeutic (30.5%) and high-level claims (29.7%). Nutrient function claims (15.5%) were the most common general-level claims and risk reduction claims in relation to a serious disease or condition were the most common high-level claims (15.2%).

High-level and therapeutic claims

Combining the results from the three search strategies, the high-level and therapeutic claims referred to 22 different nutrients or biomarkers. The food component that appeared in the highest number of high-level and therapeutic claims combined was the whole food rather than specific nutrients or components (33.8%) and the health benefits most commonly appearing were in relation to cardiovascular disease (31.0%) and cancer (22.1%). Only three high-level claims related to the permitted claim for folate and neural tube defects and one of these did not comply with regulation. Table 5 summarises the proportion of claims found with the three search strategies referencing the various health benefits and nutrient or properties claimed.

Teas were the food category where the greatest number (228 (37.0%)) of high-level health claims was found. It was also the food category where the highest number (268 (91.5%)) of therapeutic claims was found followed by the yoghurt category (6.5%). After teas, the highest number of website high-level health claims was found in the juice (20.6%), juice (cold) (13.1%), milk (5%), canned seafood (4.7%) and yoghurt (3.4%) categories.

Location of claims

The total number of claims found via the three search strategies was 2484. Of these claims 21.2% (527) were found on the webpage that the food product was advertised on and 78.6% (1953) of claims were found on a separate page to the webpage advertising the product, within the manufacturer's website. For example, the menu at the side of the webpage would offer links such as: 'Nutrition and bone facts' or 'facts about peanuts'.

DISCUSSION

The present study focused on the prevalence of claims found on the top 20 Australian food manufacturers' websites and the type and frequency of website claims associated with products found previously to carry claims on the label or in magazine advertisements. Consequently, the search strategy used was not a comprehensive Internet search of all food products, types or categories. In particular, no products were found from the frozen dessert, frozen vegetables and olives categories. Furthermore, unpackaged foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables were not included in the present Internet survey Therefore, the data collected in the present study cannot provide a comprehensive estimate of the prevalence of health claims for foods on the Internet, and should, therefore, be considered as preliminary data that offer a reference point for further investigation and some insight into strategies that regulatory enforcement agencies could use as a means of monitoring the use of false or misleading Internet health claims.

Frequency of claims

The survey of websites associated with the top 20 food-processing companies in Australia found that 14.5% of a total of 1068 products carried a website health claim. This result is comparable to the findings of previous research regarding claims on product labels. In 2000-2001 a survey of 1281 food products, performed by the US Food and Drug Administration, found that 10.6% had health or nutrient structure/function claims. (4) In the 2003 Australian food product survey 14% of products carried a nutrient function, health or related claim. (11) This suggests that the proportion of products with website health claims, as determined by this search method, is similar to the proportion of products carrying health claims on food packages.

The survey of websites associated with the top 20 food-processing companies in Australia also provided an insight into the food categories that commonly carry Internet health claims. The 10 food categories with the highest percentage of website claims were: energy drinks, fat spreads, edible oils, pasta, yoghurt, cheese, teas, breakfast cereals, muesli bars and canned vegetables. In the 2001 Australian food survey of nutrient content and nutrition claims on labels, (12) five of the top 10 food categories were the same as those identified in the present study. In the 2003 survey of health claims on food product labels, (11) four of the top 10 categories were the same. The five food categories common to the top 10 in all three studies were: energy drinks, sports drinks, yoghurt, breakfast cereals and muesli bars.

Internet versus food labels and magazines

Because of the concern that has previously been expressed in the USA and Britain after the discovery of growing numbers of dubious health claims on the Internet, (14) it was expected that the current survey might find a larger number of health claims on websites in comparison with product labels and magazines. Contradicting this assumption, however, were the findings that only 40.7% and 37.0% of websites related to food products previously identified as carrying claims in the 2003 Australian food product survey and 2005 magazine survey (3), respectively, also had related Internet health claims.

Although this result indicates that manufacturers are not more likely to make claims on the Internet compared with product labels and magazines, the types of claims and the average number of claims per website did vary and does warrant concern. Compared with the 2003 Australian food product survey which found 1.1% of claims to be high level and 0.1% therapeutic, (11) the current study found that from the survey of the websites of the top 20 food-processing companies in Australia, 19.4% had high-level claims and 0.3% therapeutic claims.

In comparison with the 2003 Australian food label survey, which found that the average number of claims per product was 0.4, the current survey found a similar figure (0.3). However, the average number of Internet health claims per product identified in the 2003 Australian food product survey search and the 2005 magazine survey searches (i.e. products known to have claims and with associated websites) were much higher: 6.2 and 14.4 website claims per product, respectively.

General-level claims

In total, 77.2% of all Internet claims found on the top 20 food manufacturers' websites were general-level claims. This was expected, given current regulation that prohibits the use of most high-level claims. Of the general-level claims, most were nutrient function claims (57.8%). A nutrient function claim describes the role of a food, a nutrient (or biologically active substance) in terms of normal growth and development. As this claim type does not reference benefits above normally accepted nutrient functions, it is likely that claims of this nature can be scientifically substantiated most easily, and therefore are more appealing to manufacturers.

However, the remaining general-level claims would require independent substantiation under the proposed regulations for health claims and monitoring of these claims will be necessary to ensure that scientific substantiation is adequate, so as not to mislead consumers.

High-level and therapeutic claims

In total, 19.7% of Internet claims found on the food manufacturers' websites were assessed as non-compliant (because they were non-approved high-level or therapeutic claims). The present study did not attempt to examine whether such claims were adequately substantiated. In the 2003 survey of food product labels, 5.8% of health claims identified were non-compliant with current regulations. The reason for the greater frequency of high-level claims on the websites is unknown. It may be that manufacturers are unaware that food regulations also apply to claims in this setting. Such a level of noncompliance in the Internet claims is cause for concern as it may pose a threat to the credibility of all claims, and it confirms that some health claims are currently being misused on the Internet.

A large number of the high-level and therapeutic claims were located on teas. One possible reason is that some teas have successfully applied to be listable goods with the Therapeutic Goods Authority, meaning that some claims not currently permitted on foods might be permitted on these products, even though they are sold together in the same section of the supermarket. However, information on the presence of AUST-L numbers was not collected in the present study.

Care is needed in interpreting the data on health benefits claimed (Table 5) as the combination of information from the three sample sources means that these data are not necessarily representative of all Internet claims, but there seem to be some clear conclusions about the most commonly claimed benefits. Cardiovascular disease and cancer were referenced most frequently in all claims. Although data into the frequency of the purchase of food products carrying or not carrying health claims are limited, a US survey conducted in 2000 suggested that more than 50% of respondents were more likely to eat foods reported to reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer. (7)

Location of claims

A key finding of the present study is in relation to the location of claims on manufacturers' websites. A high proportion (78.6%) of Internet claims were found on webpages of the manufacturer's website, but not on the webpage specifically advertising the food product. It is not entirely clear if such claims would be regarded as advertising or simply as dietary or nutrition information provided by the manufacturer. However, these results on the presence of claims within manufacturers' websites provide valuable information to regulatory agencies indicating that entire websites need to be monitored and not solely the specific product pages.

CONCLUSIONS

The three search strategies applied in the present study provided an overview of the use of health claims for foods on the Internet. The results indicate that health claims are not being made more frequently on the Internet compared with product labels and magazines, but the average number of claims per website compared with product labels is higher, and high-level and therapeutic claims are used more frequently on websites. Furthermore, the results showed that there are currently a high proportion of non-compliant claims appearing on Internet sites.

In regard to location, the present study shows that health claims are not solely being made on webpages advertising food products, but rather that the majority of claims are being made on separate webpages within manufacturer websites.

Although the present study surveyed only a limited sample of products, and was unable to include all food products available for sale in Australian supermarkets, it does provide useful baseline data for regulators. The results describe food categories that might commonly contain health claims and website locations where claims are commonly being made. Moreover, the high number of non-compliant claims found indicates that current regulation is not being enforced, suggesting that more effective processes of monitoring are required if the number of illegal claims made on the Internet is to be minimised.

In conclusion, the Internet is undoubtedly an area of advertising that requires close monitoring, especially with the upcoming release of the new health claims standard.

REFERENCES

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2 Williams P. Health claims and functional foods: time for a regulatory change. Aust J Nutr Diet 1998; 55: 87-90.

3 Williams P. Communicating health benefits--do we need health claims? Aust J Dairy Technol 2005; 60: 192-4.

4 Hawkes C. Nutrition Labels and Health Claims: The Global Regulatory Environment. Geneva: WHO, 2004.

5 Australia New Zealand Food Authority. Food Standards Code--Volume 2. Canberra: Information Australia, 2002.

6 Food Standards Australia New Zealand. Proposal P293--Nutrition, Health and Related Claims. Canberra: FSANZ, 2004.

7 Parker B. Food for health: the use of nutrient content, health and structure/function claims in food advertisements. J Advert 2003; 32: 47-55.

8 Kneale C, Truswell A. Health Claims: An Exploration of the Current Debate in Australia. Sydney: The University of Sydney Nutrition Research Foundation, 1997.

9 LeGault L, Brandt M, McCabe N, Adler C, Brown A, Brecher S. 2000-2001 food label and package survey: an update on prevalence of nutrition labeling and claims on processed, packaged foods. J Am Diet Assoc 2004; 104: 952-8.

10 Brecher S, Bender M, Wilkening V, McCabe N, Anderson E. Status of nutrition labeling, health claims, and nutrient content claims for processed foods: 1997 Food Label and Package survey. J Am Diet Assoc 2000; 100: 1057-62.

11 Williams P, Ridges L, Yeatman H et al. Nutrition function, health and related claims on packaged Australian food products--prevalence and compliance with regulations. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr 2006; 15: 10-20.

12 Williams P, Yeatman H, Zakrzewski S et al. Nutrition and related claims on packaged Australian foods; implications for regulation. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr 2003; 12: 138-50.

13 Morris C, Avorn J. Internet marketing of herbal products. JAMA 2003; 290: 1505-9.

14 Larkin M. Web health fraud monitors face formidable task. Lancet 1999; 354 (9173): 168.

15 Skolnick A. Surf's up for health fraud investigators. JAMA 1997; 278: 1725.

16 Bower C. What can we say about health claims? Aust J Nutr Diet 2001; 58: 209-10.

17 Hassall and Associates. Foreign Agricultural Service/USDA GAIN Report #AS0021: Australia Food Processing Sector. Canberra: US Embassy, 2000. (Cited 20 Dec 2005.) Also available from URL: http://www.fas.usda.gov/gainfiles/200006/25697994.pdf

Helen DRAGICEVICH, (1) Peter WILLIAMS (2) and Leisa RIDGES (2)

(1) School of Health Sciences, and (2) Smart Foods Centre, University of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia

H. Dragicevich, MSc(NutDiet)

P. Williams, PhD, APD, Assoc. Professor

L. Ridges, BSc, Regulatory Affairs Analyst

Correspondence: P. Williams, Smart Foods Centre, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia. Email: [e-mail]

Table 1 Number of health claims found on websites associated with
products manufactured by the top 20 Australian food-processing
companies (a)

                    No. products
                    located on top 20  Total no.
                    manufacturers'     products with   % Products with
Food category       websites           website claims  website claims

Energy drinks          2                 2             100.0
Fat spreads           20                11              55.0
Edible oils           18                 9              50.0
Pasta                  2                 1              50.0
Yoghurt               52                25              48.1
Cheese                51                19              37.3
Teas                  22                 8              36.4
Breakfast cereals     47                12              25.5
Muesli bars           24                 6              25.0
Canned vegetables     10                 2              20.0
Bread                 32                 6              18.8
Cream                 16                 3              18.8
Milk                  91                17              18.7
Frozen meals          77                11              14.3
Spreads               44                 5              11.4
Biscuits and         188                15               8.0
  crackers
Drink bases           13                 1               7.7
Meat (fresh and       31                 1               3.2
  canned)
Miscellaneous (b)     44                 1               2.3
Cake mixes            17                 0               0.0
Canned fruit           6                 0               0.0
Chips                  1                 0               0.0
Coconut cream/milk     1                 0               0.0
Cooking sauces        70                 0               0.0
Custard               34                 0               0.0
Flour                  3                 0               0.0
Frozen pastry          6                 0               0.0
Fruit bars             2                 0               0.0
Ice creams            67                 0               0.0
Juice                  3                 0               0.0
Juice (cold)           4                 0               0.0
Noodles                4                 0               0.0
Salad dressing         6                 0               0.0
Salsa/pesto           20                 0               0.0
Soft drink            18                 0               0.0
Soups                  2                 0               0.0
Sports drinks          7                 0               0.0
Sugar                 13                 0               0.0
Total               1068               155              14.5

                                              Mean no. website claims
Food category       Total no. website claims  per product

Energy drinks         2                       1.0
Fat spreads          19                       1.7
Edible oils          18                       2.0
Pasta                 2                       2.0
Yoghurt              71                       2.8
Cheese               28                       1.5
Teas                 10                       1.3
Breakfast cereals    29                       2.4
Muesli bars           6                       1.0
Canned vegetables     3                       1.5
Bread                 8                       1.3
Cream                 6                       2.0
Milk                 26                       1.5
Frozen meals         11                       1.0
Spreads              16                       3.2
Biscuits and         31                       2.1
  crackers
Drink bases           1                       1.0
Meat (fresh and       1                       1.0
  canned)
Miscellaneous (b)     1                       1.0
Cake mixes            0                       0.0
Canned fruit          0                       0.0
Chips                 0                       0.0
Coconut cream/milk    0                       0.0
Cooking sauces        0                       0.0
Custard               0                       0.0
Flour                 0                       0.0
Frozen pastry         0                       0.0
Fruit bars            0                       0.0
Ice creams            0                       0.0
Juice                 0                       0.0
Juice (cold)          0                       0.0
Noodles               0                       0.0
Salad dressing        0                       0.0
Salsa/pesto           0                       0.0
Soft drink            0                       0.0
Soups                 0                       0.0
Sports drinks         0                       0.0
Sugar                 0                       0.0
Total               289                       0.3

(a) Goodman Fielder, Nestle Foods, Gardner Smith, Coca Cola Amatil,
George Weston, Dairy Farmers, Australian Meat Holdings, CSR, National
Foods, Murray Goulburn, Bonlac Foods, Effem Foods, Cadbury Schweppes,
Inghams Enterprises, Unifoods, Arnotts, Ridley Corporation, Nippon Meat,
Pauls, Kraft Foods.
(b) Includes nuts and confectionery.

Table 2 Types of health claims found on websites associated with
products manufactured by the top 20 Australian food-processing companies

Claim type and classification          No. claims  % Total claims

General-level claims
Nutrient function claim                167          57.8
Enhanced nutrient function claim        33          11.4
Risk reduction claim in relation to a    1           0.3
  non-serious disease or condition
Whole-of-diet claims--non-serious        0           0.0
Performance claim--non-serious          20           6.9
Life stage claim                         0           0.0
Implied                                  2           0.7
Total general-level claims             223          77.2
High-level claims
Biomarker maintenance claim              7           2.4
Biomarker enhancement claim             18           6.2
Risk reduction claim in relation to a   30          10.4
  serious disease or condition
Whole-of-diet claim--serious             0           0.0
Performance claim--serious               1           0.3
Slimming                                 0           0.0
Total high-level claims                 56          19.4
Therapeutic claim                        1           0.3
Endorsement                              9           3.1
Total                                  289         100.0

Table 3 Number of health claims found on websites related to 518 (a)
products carrying claims in the 2003 food product label survey (11)

                   No. products located  Total no.       % Products
                   on manufacturers'     products with   with website
Food category (b)  websites              website claims  claims

Juice (cold)        27                    27             100.0
Rice                 1                     1             100.0
Soups                2                     2             100.0
Sports drinks        4                     4             100.0
Canned seafood      13                    12              92.3
Drink bases          7                     6              85.7
Juice               54                    45              83.3
Sports bars         23                    18              78.3
Milk                30                    23              76.7
Spreads             12                     7              58.3
Teas                37                    20              54.1
Yoghurt             43                    19              44.2
Breakfast cereals   39                    15              38.5
Pasta                7                     2              28.6
Frozen fish         16                     4              25.0
Ice creams          34                     5              14.7
Bread               23                     1               4.3
Total (including   372                   211              40.7
  categories with
  no claims)

                                             Mean no. website claims
Food category (b)  Total no. website claims  per product

Juice (cold)        261                      9.7
Rice                  3                      3.0
Soups                10                      5.0
Sports drinks         7                      1.8
Canned seafood       57                      4.4
Drink bases          22                      3.1
Juice               433                      8.0
Sports bars          62                      2.7
Milk                151                      5.0
Spreads              17                      1.4
Teas                 48                      1.3
Yoghurt             114                      2.7
Breakfast cereals    75                      1.9
Pasta                10                      1.4
Frozen fish          16                      1.0
Ice creams           25                      0.7
Bread                 4                      0.2
Total (including   1315                      3.5
  categories with
  no claims)

(a) These products are those found to carry a health claim on their
label in the 2003 study and that were not reported in Table 1.
(b) The 47 food categories used in the 2003 survey were used in the
current survey. However, the Internet searches did not reveal advertised
website claims from all categories. Those food categories without claims
have been omitted from the above table.

Table 4 Number of health claims found on websites related to 165 (1)
products carrying claims in a 2005 survey of magazine advertisements (a)

                   No. products
                   located on top 20  Total no.       % Products
                   manufacturers'     products with   with website
Food category (b)  websites           website claims  claims

Breakfast cereals   1                  1              100.0
Cake mixes          2                  2              100.0
Canned seafood     10                 10              100.0
Drink bases         1                  1              100.0
Milk                1                  1              100.0
Teas               38                 38              100.0
Ice creams          2                  1               50.0
Canned fruit       12                  5               41.7
Fat spreads         5                  2               40.0
Total (including   72                 61               37.0
  categories with
  no claims)

                                             Mean no. website claims
Food category (b)  Total no. website claims  per product

Breakfast cereals    2                        2.0
Cake mixes           3                        1.5
Canned seafood      55                        5.5
Drink bases          1                        1.0
Milk                 1                        1.0
Teas               798                       21.0
Ice creams           2                        1.0
Canned fruit        15                        1.3
Fat spreads          3                        0.6
Total (including   880                       12.2
  categories with
  no claims)

(a) These products were those for which a health claim was made in a
print media advertisement as revealed in a 2005 survey of magazine
advertisements (unpublished data, 2005) and that were not included in
Table 1. The magazines surveyed were: Australian Women's Weekly, Woman's
Day, New Idea, That's Life, Super Food Ideas, Readers Digest, TV Week,
Better Homes and Gardens, Take 5, Cosmopolitan, Cleo, NW, Australian
Good Taste, Dolly, Who Weekly, K-Zone, Girlfriend, Burkes Backyard,
Australian House and Garden, FHM, Delicious, Marie Claire, Ralph, Fresh,
Australian Family Circle, New Woman, Total Girl, Weight Watchers,
Australian Home Beautiful, Donna Hay.
(b) The 47 food categories used in the 2003 food product survey (11)
were used in the current survey. However, the Internet searches did not
reveal advertised website claims from all categories. Those food
categories without claims have been omitted from the above table.

Table 5 Health benefits recorded in the high-level and therapeutic
claims found from all three Internet search strategies

                       Health benefit
Claim type             claimed          Nutrient/property  % Claims

Biomarker maintenance  Blood glucose    Fibre               45.5
claim (n = 11)         levels
                       Cholesterol      Plant sterols       27.3
                       Blood glucose    Glycaemic index      9.1
                       levels
                       Homocysteine     Vitamins B6, B12     9.1
                                        and folate
                       Triglycerides    Omega 3              9.1
                                                           100.0
Biomarker enhancement  Blood glucose    Catechins           25.0
claim (n = 152)        Blood pressure   Catechins           25.0
                       Cholesterol      Catechins           25.0
                       Cholesterol      Vitamin E            5.9
                       Blood pressure   DHA                  4.6
                       Blood pressure   Protein              3.9
                       Cholesterol      Unsaturated oils     3.3
                       Blood glucose    Glycaemic index      2.6
                       Cholesterol      Fibre                2.0
                       Blood glucose    Fibre                1.3
                       Cholesterol      Plant sterols        0.7
                       Cholesterol      Omega 3 and 6        0.7
                                                           100.0
Risk reduction claim   Cardiovascular   Whole food          24.7
in relation to a       disease
serious disease or     Cancer           Flavonoids          16.1
condition (n = 435)    Cardiovascular   Flavonoids          16.1
                       disease
                       Osteoporosis     Calcium              9.8
                       Cancer           Whole food           8.6
                       Death            Whole food           8.6
                       Cancer           Soy                  2.3
                       Cardiovascular   Soy                  2.3
                       disease
                       Arthritis        DHA                  1.6
                       Cardiovascular   DHA                  1.6
                       disease
                       Depression       DHA                  1.6
                       Cancer           Fibre                1.4
                       Cardiovascular   Grain foods          1.4
                       disease
                       Diabetes         Grain foods          1.4
                       Neural tube      Folate               0.9
                       defects
                       Cancer           Lycopene             0.5
                       Cardiovascular   Lycopene             0.5
                       disease
                       Gum disease      Fluoride             0.5
                       Cardiovascular   Vitamin E            0.2
                       disease
                       Cardiovascular   Vitamin C            0.2
                       disease
                                                           100.0
Whole-of-diet          Cholesterol      Whole food         100.0
claim--serious                                             100.0
(n = 1)
Performance            Immune system    Probiotics         100.0
claim--serious                                             100.0
(n = 1)
Slimming (n = 20)      Weight loss      Fibre               50.0
                       Weight loss      Whole food          50.0
                                                           100.0
Therapeutic claim      Cardiovascular   Whole food          25.9
(n = 293)              disease
                       Atherosclerosis  Antioxidants        13.0
                       Cancer           Antioxidants        13.0
                       Cancer           Whole food          13.0
                       Dental caries    Fluoride            13.0
                       Blood pressure   Catechins           13.0
                       Diarrhoea        Probiotics           6.5
                       Osteoporosis     Calcium              1.0
                       Cold and flu     Whole food           0.7
                       Age-related      Antioxidants         0.3
                       health risks
                       Cardiovascular   Omega 3              0.3
                       disease
                       Cardiovascular   Vitamin C            0.3
                       disease
                                                           100.0