Health claims about food requires harmonised guidelines; the EU has started work on a regulation. The purpose of health claims should be to help consumers select foods which they can include as a natural part of their diet and which benefit their health. Importantly, the use of health claims on some foods should not undermine confidence in normal traditional foods, which is not branded or marketed with such claims. The introduction of health claims will not replace the efforts at providing general information and education aimed at consumers. Food companies have a special interest in including health claims in their marketing. However, there are as yet no studies demonstrating that such claims promote health in the general population or even healthy eating, hence the importance of a thorough evaluation of health claims.