The compliance of nutrition claims on pita bread in Lebanon and risk on public health: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Mislabeling is a type of fraud, that can lead to major health concerns, especially when used on staple foods like bread. This study aimed to assess the compliance of nutrition claims on pre-packaged Pita bread in Mount Lebanon with national (LIBNOR; NL 661:2017) and international (CODEX; CAC/GL -2–1985) standards. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted and Lebanese bread samples (n = 75) were collected from all the registered bakeries in Mount Lebanon directorate (n = 25). The claim compliance assessment was based on values of the nutrition facts panel and standard nutrient analyses, following official methods. RESULTS: Of all assessed breads, 84% carried nutrition claims, and 25.3% carried health claims. Among nutrition claims, 70.7% had non-addition claims, 56.0% had nutrient content claims, and 1.3% had comparative claims. The results showed a high prevalence of nutrition claims with majority non-compliant. Based on the nutrition facts panel, only 32.4% of the sugar related claims, 45.5% of the fiber claims, and 54.4% of salt claims were eligible to make those statements. Based on the chemical nutrient analyses, only 47.0% of sugar claims, 16.1% of fiber claims, and 37.5% of salt claims were compliant. All the claims related to protein (n = 7) were compliant. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest the urgent need to develop clear guidelines for the effective implementation of the current standard; in order to prevent mislead consumers from making poor decisions at the point-of-sale, which might affect their overall health and efforts towards proper nutrition.