The European Union's food safety agency EFSA said on Wednesday it had found no "convincing evidence" of a link between an exotic juice and four reported cases of hepatitis in Austria and Germany, Reuters reported. Noni juice, made from the fruit of the Morinda Citrifolia plant, sometimes known as the Indian Mulberry, hit shelves across Europe after it was authorised by the European Commission in 2003 for the market. Sold as a novel health drink, it had been promoted as a helping boost for the immune system. In documents published on its Web site (www.efsa.europa.eu), EFSA said the European Commission had asked it for its opinion after Austria's health and food safety body sounded a warning in 2005 after three acute hepatitis cases were reported. EFSA said its expert panel on dietetic products, nutrition and allergies examined the Austrian and Germany cases in which the people who consumed the juice later came down with hepatitis. "The NDA Panel came to the conclusion that there is no convincing evidence for a causal relationship between the acute hepatitis observed in the case reports and the consumption of noni juice," EFSA said in a statement. "On the basis of the available information, it is unlikely that consumption of noni juice at the observed levels of intake induces adverse human liver effects," it said. EFSA added it did not investigate or evaluate possible health benefits of noni juice, nor the scientific validity of any health claims.
