EFSA approves sugar-free gum health claim
5 October 2010 – The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has approved a health claim for xylitol, sorbitol and mannitol-based sugar-free chewing gum that it reduces the risk of tooth decay.
The application was submitted by Wrigley, under Article 14 of the health claims process, the category which refers to disease risk reduction. EFSA’s Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies found causality has been established between the chewing gum. This approval follows an earlier endorsement by EFSA in 2008 for a claim submitted by the Dutch and Finnish group Leaf Holland that xylitol-sweetened chewing gum was beneficial to dental health.
The EFSA panel said that, in weighing the evidence, it took into account that almost all of the clinical trials of sugar-free chewing gum consumption submitted by Wrigley "showed reduced tooth demineralisation as indicated by a reduction in caries incidence, and that there was strong evidence supporting the biological plausibility for the effect."
The panel notes that in order to obtain the claimed effect, two to three grams of sugar-free chewing gum should be chewed for 20 minutes at least three times per day after meals. It also noted, though, that there is a risk of osmotic diarrhoea at excessive intakes of polyols such as xylitol, sorbitol and mannitol.
