What can you say about pectin in your ads and on your site?

The library supports 2 wordings for pectin; the strongest is “Helps maintain normal blood cholesterol levels” (moderate, at least 6 g pectin a day). Avoid wording that names or implies a disease, a drug or a treatment, such as “Lowers cholesterol”, and keep “When taken with a meal, helps reduce the rise in blood sugar after that meal” off Meta ads.

Also called: Pectins, Apple pectin, Citrus pectin

Reviewed 14 October 2026

Not legal advice. This guide shows the wording that published evidence supports at a daily dose, from the sources linked below; it is not a ruling on any claim. Your own product, its form and dose, and your own evidence still need to match the wording you use.

Supported wordings

What you can say.

Moderate evidenceWording 1

Claims Facts

“Helps maintain normal blood cholesterol levels.”

Daily dose	at least 6 g pectin a day
Support	Authorized in the EU after EFSA review; no other listed source covers it.
Dose details	EU: a daily intake of 6 g of pectins.
Form	Pectins
Source	Commission Regulation (EU) No 432/2012, list of permitted health claims

Moderate evidenceNot in Meta adsWording 2

Claims Facts

“When taken with a meal, helps reduce the rise in blood sugar after that meal.”

Daily dose	at least 10 g pectin a day
Support	Authorized in the EU after EFSA review; no other listed source covers it.
Dose details	EU: 10 g of pectins per quantified portion, eaten as part of the meal; the dose is per meal.
Form	Pectins
Meta ads	Wording to avoid in Meta ads. On your site it is supported wording.
Source	Commission Regulation (EU) No 432/2012, list of permitted health claims

How strong the evidence is

Strong evidence: At least two listed sources support it independently at a comparable dose and form, and none disagrees.
Moderate evidence: One listed source supports it as an evidence-based use at that dose, and no listed source disagrees.
Limited evidence: The only support is traditional use, the sources disagree, or the source itself calls the evidence weak.

Wordings to avoid

What to leave out.

Claims Facts

Ingredient: Pectin

Wording to avoid	Reason
“Lowers cholesterol”FDA’s 2000 rule gives ‘lowers cholesterol’ as a disease claim (page 1015).	Disease
“Lowers blood sugar in diabetes, or helps manage diabetes”Names a disease.	Disease
“Stops diarrhea”Diarrhea is a sign of disease; no listed source supports it.	Disease
“When taken with a meal, helps reduce the rise in blood sugar after that meal.” Meta ads onlyBlood sugar is a health-condition claim on Meta, so this wording stays off Meta ads, as chromium’s blood glucose wording does (library decision of 2026-10-15; Meta’s ad policies were not read). It stays supported wording for pages.	Disease

Disease: names or implies a disease. Drug: names a drug or presents the product as one. Treatment: promises to treat, cure or prevent a condition. Meta ads only: keep it out of Meta ads; on your own site it is supported wording.

Sources

Where this comes from.

All ingredient guides

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