Supplement products are intended to bridge the gap between your normal dietary intake and your specific nutrient needs. For instance, pregnancies require additional vitamins and minerals like folic acid to prevent birth defects from occurring. Supplement products provide a solution.
Many people take dietary supplements, including vitamins and minerals, amino acids, herbs and plant extracts and essential fatty acids. They come in the form of tablets, capsules or even gummies for easier consumption.
They are wildly popular
Dietary supplements are an increasingly popular way of supplementing our diets with essential nutrients that we may be lacking from food alone, including vitamins (multivitamins and single-vitamin supplements), minerals, herbal extracts, amino acids and live microbials. Supplements may come in the form of tablets, capsules, powders, bars, gummies or liquids and should be consumed according to their appropriate instructions.
Consumers increasingly take a holistic approach to wellness, with an aim of strengthening immunity and maintaining overall vitality. Their desire is fuelled by innovative products designed to assist them with this aim; consequently, there has been an upsurge in demand for immune-enhancing supplements which include ingredients known to support natural defense systems within their bodies.
Supplements are an increasingly lucrative industry, so it’s crucial that they come from trustworthy manufacturers. Look for businesses using ethical sourcing methods as these will more likely comply with Governmental Environmental, Health & Safety regulations both domestically and internationally.
They are not regulated by the FDA
Supplements have become an essential component of many people’s health regimens. But while popular, supplements are unregulated by the Food and Drug Administration and do not undergo rigorous quality or safety protocols before reaching consumers. They’re also not tested by health care professionals – something which may lead to various problems from foreign objects in products to severe side effects – should occur. It is vitally important that any issues with supplements be reported immediately.
Inspections should be conducted at firms engaged in packaging, labeling, re-packaging or relabeling dietary supplements; manufacturing inspections for companies conducting additional steps (e.g. blending, tableting or encapsulating); time spent reviewing labels should be reported under an applicable PAC; focus should also be given to products that bear disease claims, unapproved structure/function claims or fail to disclose major food allergens as well as those containing non-dietary ingredients, edible ruminant ingredients, botanical ingredients or color additives.
They are not regulated by the EU
Recent years have witnessed an alarming spike in European RASFF (Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed) notifications related to dietary supplements, often screening samples using liquid chromatography combined with full scan high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Such tests can detect plant toxins, pharmaceutical drugs, hormones and more.
Food supplement products are regulated by the EU via Directive 2002/46/EC, which establishes general requirements for their composition, labeling and declaration requirements. Furthermore, many national governments also regulate them with specific laws regarding additives, claims, hygiene or contaminants that apply specifically to them.
While regulatory agencies and risk assessors internationally have shown increased interest in cooperating, this has not translated to an agreed standard on ingredient safety assessments for botanical-sourced ingredients – creating potential hurdles for companies selling supplements in Europe as EU laws demand that information provided is accurate and not misleading.
They are regulated by third-party testing
Dietary supplement industry has come under scrutiny recently due to poor quality control and claims substantiation, prompting third-party certifications that help restore consumer trust in supplements. Third-party certification organizations analyze each supplement labeled on store shelves to make sure its ingredients match what it should contain and that there are no harmful contaminants present; to verify its test status look for a USP or NSF seal on it as proof it was tested before purchasing.
NSF International, a nonprofit organization, develops public health standards and offers various services including product and ingredient testing. Their NSF Verified mark ensures that products contain only those ingredients listed on their labels while testing for bacteria contamination and levels in raw ingredients; providing additional quality checks beyond that provided by FDA.
