(1)

Pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006, health claims made on foods are prohibited unless they are authorised by the Commission in accordance with that Regulation and included in the Union list of permitted health claims.

(2)

Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 also provides that applications for the inclusion of health claims in the Union list of permitted health claims may be submitted by food business operators to the national competent authority of a Member State. The national competent authority is to forward valid applications to the European Food Safety Authority (‘the Authority’) for a scientific assessment, as well as to the Commission and the Member States for information.

(3)

Following the receipt of an application, the Authority is to deliver an opinion on the health claim concerned.

(4)

The Commission is to decide on the authorisation of the health claim, taking into account the opinion delivered by the Authority.

(5)

Following an application from Edge Pharma Sp. z o.o. (‘the applicant’), submitted pursuant to Article 18(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006, the Authority was required to deliver an opinion on the scientific substantiation of a health claim related to citicoline and support of the memory (Question No EFSA-Q-2022-00411). The claim proposed by the applicant was worded as follows: ‘Citicoline intake supports memory function in healthy middle-aged and elderly persons encountering age-related memory impairment’.

(6)

On 4 July 2024, the Authority published a scientific opinion (2) on that health claim.

(7)

In its scientific opinion, the Authority concluded that, on the basis of the data presented, a cause-and-effect relationship has not been established between the consumption of citicoline (CDP-Choline) inner salt and improvement, maintenance or reduced loss of memory in healthy middle-aged or elderly adults encountering age-associated subjective memory impairment. Accordingly, as the health claim does not comply with the requirements of Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 for the inclusion in the Union list of permitted health claims, it should not be authorised.

(8)

The Authority forwarded its scientific opinion to the Commission, the applicant and the Member States. Upon publication of that opinion, the Commission did not receive any comments from the applicant or members of the public pursuant to Article 16(6) of Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006.

(9)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed,