Prune eating contest suggested after EU rules they are not a laxative

The EU has ruled that prunes do not have a laxative effect and producers cannot say that they do. It comes after the organisation was mocked last month a ruling that led to a ban on claims that drinking water can prevent dehydration. Despite a long held belief that prunes, traditionally served with custard, are good for improving bowel function, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has ruled this is not the case.

Its experts said there was "insufficient" evidence of a link between the dried plums and normal bowel function after looking at three studies of prune consumption. Sir Graham Watson MEP has now challenged an EU Commissioner to a prune-eating contest after his food safety committee ruled that prunes do not have a laxative effect.



Sir Graham, the Liberal Democrat member for South West England and Gibraltar, raised the issue in Strasbourg after the EU refused to recognise the high fibre content of fruits like pomegranates, berries and prunes. "The European Commission's advisory panel which does this work has rejected 95 per cent of claims for plant-based foods, maybe in many cases with good reason, but among the claims rejected is the claim that prunes have a laxative effect," he said.

"I have asked the Commission if it is satisfied with the criteria and the methodology used for testing such claims because I know that prunes contain two substances sorbitol and dihydrophenylisatin, which have laxative effects. But most of our constituents do not require a scientific test. I have also invited the Commissioner responsible for health and consumer policy, John Dalli, to a prune eating contest to see for himself."