I think that the current guidelines that we have in place for making health claims shouldn’t be changed. The level of evidence necessary is high, but it needs to be high so we can confidently know that the claims are true. If we lower the guidelines for these health claims to be made, then we will open an opportunity for them to be lowered again in the future once we have set a precedent.
If we don’t have enough evidence currently that completely backs up the claims of probiotics and prebiotics, then we shouldn’t misinform consumers by telling them that it’s likely that they have health benefits. Consumers deserve to have legislation that holds itself to high standards in determining what can be considered healthful.
In the past, many governmental agencies were very wrong about what could be considered healthy, with progression in science and technology, we learned that many things long regarded as safe, like tobacco, are, in fact, not safe. There could be developments in the future that prove or disprove the health benefits of probiotics and prebiotics. I think until we can get this confirmation one way or the other, governments shouldn’t make any health claims. Otherwise, you risk losing the trust of consumers in what they think is healthy and unhealthy, which could lead to other problems for the food industry as a whole.
I do believe that there are health benefits to prebiotics and probiotics, but until there is foolproof evidence that backs this up, I think that governmental agencies should refrain from making health claims at the expense of consumer trust. I also believe that consumers are capable of researching the issue themselves and making decisions for themselves and their families in the meantime. Governmental agencies don’t have to make health claims to allow consumers to make informed decisions about their food, consumers will continue to make their own decisions on this subject with or without government-made health claims.
Image from: Harvard Health Publishing https://www.health.harvard.edu/nutrition/are-you-getting-essential-nutrients-from-your-diet