Guidance for the design and implementation of human dietary intervention studies for health claim submissions

The recently completed EU-funded BACCHUS Integrated Project (grant number: 312090) has focused on identification of cause-and-effect relationships between consumption of bioactive peptides and polyphenols and physiological effects on cardiovascular health. An important BACCHUS output is a toolkit to support the needs of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the food sector considering making health claims on their products. The toolkit draws together best practice guides, a bioactives database, an intake assessment tool and an e-learning platform. This paper focuses on the Best Practice Guide for Human Dietary Intervention Studies. The toolkit has been developed with SMEs in mind but this guidance is likely to have value far beyond the needs of businesses, in particular being a useful resource for students, early-career scientists and others new to the design and implementation of dietary intervention studies. The aim of this article is to share the principles of the guide with a broader audience.