IT’S official: nuts are a healthy heart food.
After more than a decade of work, the nut industry can finally take hold of the General Level Health Claim (GLHC) to use in promoting the products.
Chair of Nuts for Life, Chris Joyce, delivered details of the change to the Food Standards Code which now allows, under strict conditions, some health claims on packs, in advertising and any promotional material.
The Food Standards Code had previously prevented any statements that link a food with diseases, despite whatever science was available supporting that claim.
But in a mammoth 14-year document trek, Nuts for Life compiled evidence for statements on pack and in advertising that nuts are heart healthy.
This evidence can now be used by Nuts for Life contributors as the basis of their “heart healthy without weight gain” claims.
Mr Joyce said it was pleasing to see some traction from the hard work.
"Achieving this was one of the original goals of Nuts for Life back in 2003," Mr Joyce said.
"So for the first time, we are going to be able to do this; we are going to be able to say things like nuts are a heart healthy food; enjoy a handful of heart healthy nuts; regular nut consumption contributes to heart health without causing weight gain.”
He said there are conditions with the claims and it remains highly regulated.
"It's not going to be perfect but we are going to be able to make some overt health claims associating our healthy product with heart health without weight gain," he said.
He said the health benefits of nuts should work as a complementary promotional device alongside the taste and culinary attraction of nuts.
Angling nuts as a healthy food was a reoccurring theme throughout many presentations at the Australian Nut Conference held at Melbourne in March.
Mr Joyce said public perception regarding nuts seemed to have turned a corner.
"The health message, I think, has removed the guilt from the eating of nuts which existed 15 years ago," he said.
While there are some licence agreements and packaging stipulations required before producers can officially use the claim, it applies to: Tree nuts (almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamias, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios and walnuts) and peanuts.
Mr Joyce thanked those involved in the process, particularly Nuts for Life program manager, Lisa Yates.
Continuing nut health theme, head of the School of Allied Health at La Trobe University, Professor Catherine Itsiopoulos, spoke on nut health research in an Australian context.
She said nuts have garnered an unfair reputation as being an unhealthy snack.
Professor Itsiopoulos is a recognised leader in dietetics and has international standing as a leader in Mediterranean diet research.
She said nuts were a great healthy snacking option.
"What nuts do particularly as a snack is they fill you up, they are a healthy snack, and they keep you going over a longer break," Professor Itsiopoulos said.
“We (dietitians) encourage healthy high fat snacks like nuts. They’re good for the heart and brain.”
"They are not associated with weight gain. I think that's the important thing.
“People are scared of high fat foods because of weight gain."