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How to use the GB nutrition and health claims register

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Short answer. The Great Britain nutrition and health claims (NHC) register is a spreadsheet published by the Department of Health and Social Care. It lists the nutrition and health claims that are authorised, and the ones that have been rejected. Only authorised claims may be used in Great Britain. To use it, find the nutrient in your product, pick the authorised claim, and check that your product meets that claim's conditions of use.

What is in the register

  • Authorised claims: the exact wording you can use, for example "Vitamin C contributes to the normal function of the immune system".
  • Conditions of use: what the product must contain for the claim to be used, usually a minimum amount of the nutrient.
  • Rejected or non-authorised claims: claims that must not be used.
  • An annex of claims authorised on the basis of proprietary data, which are restricted to the company that supplied the data.

DHSC publishes it as Excel and OpenDocument files on gov.uk. The latest update was 19 May 2026.

How to use it, step by step

  1. List the nutrients you can declare. Use your label or specification, with the amount per recommended daily dose.
  2. Find each nutrient in the register. Filter the authorised claims by nutrient or by the body function you want to talk about.
  3. Pick the claim that matches your message. Keep the meaning: CAP accepts wording with the same meaning to consumers, but not wording that makes the effect stronger (rule 15.1.1).
  4. Check the conditions of use. For vitamins and minerals this usually means a "significant amount": at least 15% of the nutrient reference value (NRV). If the product does not meet it, the claim cannot be used.
  5. Keep the evidence. Save the register entry and your composition for each claim (rule 15.1).

Things that catch brands out

  • Claims on hold. Some claims, many of them for botanicals, are still "on hold" from the EU process. GB guidance says they can continue to be used for now under a 2014 Department of Health bulletin, until the government decides how to handle them.
  • Northern Ireland. EU food law still applies there, so the EU register is the one that counts for Northern Ireland.
  • General claims. Words like "superfood" or "full of goodness" are general health claims. They are only allowed with an authorised specific claim next to them (rule 15.2).
  • The landing page counts. The rules apply to your own website and social posts, not only paid ads.

Sources

Not legal advice. Last updated: 1 November 2026.