Regulations applicable to plant food supplements and related products in the European Union

2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (12) ◽  
pp. 710 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vittorio Silano ◽  
Patrick Coppens ◽  
Ainhoa Larrañaga-Guetaria ◽  
Paola Minghetti ◽  
René Roth-Ehrang
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Food Supplements ◽  
Plant Food ◽  
The European Union

Heavy Metal Testing Ensures Better Supplement Safety

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Heavy Metal ◽  
European Union ◽  
Heavy Metal Contamination ◽  
Food Supplements ◽  
Quality Assurance Program ◽  
Local Market ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Consumer Safety ◽  
Two Samples

Heavy metal contamination in our food and supplements is a very real and serious issue. Surveillance activities in a number of countries in recent years have identified high levels of the heavy metals like lead, cadmium, arsenic and mercury in certain food supplements. Consumption of such contaminated food supplements may contribute to human exposure to these metals. Heavy metal testing is a cornerstone of any GMP-certified manufacturer’s quality assurance program, and to ensure consumer safety. The aim of the study was to compare the levels of these metals found in food supplements, which are available in the local market of Dubai with the legislative requirements. Over 200 food supplements were analyzed in this study during the year 2018. The concentration of heavy metals in supplement products were determined using microwave digestion and high-resolution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry with concentrated nitric acid. The results showed a high degree of compliance with the limits of 3 μg lead/g, 1 μg cadmium/g and 0.1 μg mercury/g in the products with the exception of two samples were above the maximum levels of 3 μg lead/g and 1 sample above the maximum levels of 0.1 μg mercury/g. Cadmium were below regulations set by the European Union. However, total arsenic has no regulatory limits set up by the European Union legislation to assess the risk. The concentration ranges were as follows: arsenic, <50-32381 μg/kg; cadmium, <10-958 μg/kg; mercury, <50-139 μg/kg; and lead, <50-44303 μg/kg. Therefore, determination of these elements in these products is necessary and the authorities should be survey and monitor these products at regular intervals.

scholarly journals A Systematic Review of the European Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed: Tendencies in Illegal Food Supplements for Weight Loss

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorottya Koncz ◽  
Barbara Tóth ◽  
Orsolya Roza ◽  
Dezső Csupor
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
European Union ◽  
Weight Loss ◽  
Food Supplements ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Alert System ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Food And Feed ◽  
Synthetic Drug ◽  
Rapid Alert System

Background: Slimming products represent a dynamically growing group of food supplements worldwide. The efficacy of safely usable natural ingredients is usually below consumers’ expectations. Certain manufacturers add unauthorized or prohibited ingredients to weight loss supplements in order to increase their efficacy. Hence, many of these products are adulterated and may pose a risk to the consumers’ health.Aims: The aim of our work was to give an overview on natural ingredients used in slimming products, to summarize the frequently used synthetic adulterants and also to assess the trends of adulterated and illegal food supplements in the European Union based on the warnings of the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) in the time period of 1988–2019.Methods: Reports between 1988–2019 were extracted from the RASFF portal on January 1, 2020. Each entry was individually reviewed.Results: 2,559 records of food supplements with quality problems were identified in the RASFF, several of which [319 (12,5%)] were marketed to facilitate weight loss. 202 (63,3%) contained unapproved, synthetic drug ingredients. The major adulterant (113 of 319, 35.4%) was DNP (2,4-dinitrophenol), whereas sibutramine was the second most frequent adulterant agent (69 products, 21,6%) between 1988 and 2019.Conclusion: The number of approved medicines for the indication of weight loss is relatively low and their efficacy (and also that of the natural ingredients) is limited. Therefore, a significant number of weight loss supplements is adulterated to satisfy patients’ expectations. Hence, these products may cause serious adverse effects in sensitive patients.

scholarly journals Regulatory Requirements for Food Supplements in the European Union and Bulgaria

Folia Medica ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-48
Author(s):  
Elina S. Petkova-Gueorguieva ◽  
Ilko N. Getov ◽  
Kalin V. Ivanov ◽  
Stanislava D. Ivanova ◽  
Stanislav R. Gueorguiev ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Production Control ◽  
Food Products ◽  
Food Supplements ◽  
Public Expenditures ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Regulatory Requirements ◽  
Real Risk ◽  
Safe Food ◽  
And Control

Abstract Data provided by the European Commission show that public expenditures for food supplements have been constantly increasing over the last decade. The aim of the present study was to analyze the major food supplements regulations in the European Union and in Bulgaria. Relevant publications were searched and found in MEDLINE/PubMed, Scopus Database, Web of Knowledge, and in Internet-based search with predefined keywords. Numerous authors support the opinion that there is a real risk that low quality products may be distributed in countries with poor production control. Bulgarian national legislation have 6 regulations with different legal force for provision of healthy and safe food supplements on the market. Currently, the European Community is concerned about food products, including FS, launched on the market because the citizens require reliable protection of their health. This concern provoked the European Parliament and the Council to undertake a number of legislative initiatives in the field of production and control of food products. It is necessary to set more precise quality and safety criteria in future strategies associated with those products.

Drug adulteration of food supplements: A threat to public health in the European Union?

2018 ◽  
Vol 97 ◽  
pp. 98-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edyta Czepielewska ◽  
Magdalena Makarewicz-Wujec ◽  
Filip Różewski ◽  
Elżbieta Wojtasik ◽  
Małgorzata Kozłowska-Wojciechowska
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
European Union ◽  
Food Supplements ◽  
The European Union

scholarly journals Composition, labelling, and safety of food supplements based on bee products in the legislative framework of the European Union – Croatian experiences / Sastav, označavanje i zdravstvena ispravnost dodataka prehrani koji se temelje na pčelinjim proizvodima u pravnom okviru Europske unije – hrvatska iskustva

2015 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 243-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mario Vujić ◽  
Lea Pollak
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Food Supplements ◽  
Health Claims ◽  
Legal Regulations ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Legislative Framework ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
The Eu

The European Union market is overflown by food supplements and an increasing number of consumers prefer those where bee products play an important part in their composition. This paper deals with complex European Union legislation concerning food supplements based on bee products, placing a special emphasis on their composition, labelling, and safety. Correct labelling of food supplements also represents a great challenge since, in spite of legal regulations in force, there are still open issues regarding the statements on the amount of propolis, which is not clearly defined by the legal framework. One of the key issues are the labels containing health claims from the EU positive list approved by the European Food Safety Authority. Emphasis will also be placed on informing consumers about food, as statements which imply the healing properties of food supplements and their capacity to cure diseases are forbidden. One of the key elements of product safety is HACCP based on the EU Regulations EC 178/02 and 852/2004. Health safety analyses of food supplements with bee products used as raw materials, which are standardised by legal regulations will also be discussed. In the future, attention should also be paid to establishing the European Union “nutrivigilance” system. Croatian experiences in addressing challenges faced by producers, supervisory entities, and regulatory and inspection bodies may serve as an example to countries aspiring to become part of the large European family.

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