Search Results (5)

The food supplement market has expanded rapidly in recent years, driven by demand for health, wellness, and healthy ageing; yet, the integrity of associated Health Claims (HC) remains uncertain. In the European Union (EU), food supplements are regulated under Directive 2002/46/EC, while HC use is governed by Regulation (EC) No. 1924/2006 (NHCR), which requires scientific substantiation evaluated by the European Food Safety Authority and subsequent authorisation by the European Commission/Member States. Despite this framework, concerns persist regarding unauthorised or non-compliant HC. This study examined the prevalence and compliance of HC on food supplement labels in the Republic of Ireland, comparing products sold in-store and online. A total of 192 food supplements were randomly selected across multiple categories, with HC compliance assessed against the EU Register of Nutrition and Health Claims and mandatory labelling requirements. In total, 2604 HC were identified, with multivitamins and botanicals as the most common categories reviewed. Although most HC referred to vitamins D and C and focused on immune function, only 80.7% of in-store claims and 75.6% of online claims were authorised, and only around one-third used the prescribed wording. Compliance was notably lower for botanicals, reflecting regulatory ambiguities around their use. These findings highlight persistent challenges in enforcing the NHCR, particularly for online sales and botanicals, and underscore the need for greater regulatory clarity and consumer protection. Full article

Background/Objectives: Health and nutrition are increasingly important to people, which has increased the popularity of products promoted for their contribution to health, such as food supplements. Methods: This study encompassed 87 herbal food supplements, assessing the compliance of health claims with regulatory requirements. The study was conducted in Serbia, a European country with a regulatory framework harmonized with the one in the EU; however, it requires the pre-market registration of supplements. Results: Health claims were listed on as many as 86.2% of the labels, but only 10.7% of them, all associated with vitamin and mineral ingredients, were compliant with the EU Register of authorized health claims. An additional 38.7% of supplements carried “on-hold” claims from the EFSA Register of questions for botanicals. The remaining ones (50.6%) comprised those attributed with strictly prohibited properties of disease prevention, treatment, or cure (9.3%), and those containing at least one botanical-related health claim out of the scope of the Register of questions. Conclusions: The study unequivocally showed the worrying lack of adherence to regulations in the Serbian settings. Considering the importance of labelling for consumer protection and public health, the authors of this paper advocate for significant improvement in quality assurance of the registration process, tightening of market control, and an effective solution for on-hold claims on botanicals continuously used under transitional regulatory measures. Full article

In the EU and Great Britain (GB), all health claims (HCs) on food must be authorised before use and should comply with Regulation 1924/2006. In GB, all HCs, authorised or not, are listed in the Great Britain Nutrition and Health Claims Register. This study reviews the prevalence and compliance of HCs on prepacked foods sold within three GB supermarkets and via their grocery shopping websites. In June 2023, food labels and online product information of 440 products were evaluated across three food categories—dairy and dairy alternatives; fruit juices, fruit juice drinks and fruit smoothies; and teas and infusions. In store, 26.3% of products carried an HC and 28.3% online. The prevalence of HCs was higher when compared with data from 2016. Overall compliance was high, in store (94.3%) and online (90.0%), with no statistically significant difference in overall HC compliance between in store and online products (p = 0.724). The HC violations observed in the present study were due to non-compliant wording of HCs or use of non-authorised HCs. This study demonstrates changes in the HC landscape and the need for continued monitoring of the prevalence and compliance of HCs as consumer trends alter. Full article

Background and objectives: Fruits and vegetables are rich in components with health-promoting effects, such as vitamins. However, lack of compliance with the recommended ‘5-a-day’ is an issue most nations face. While these plant-based foods contain high levels of vitamins and other bio-compounds, their bioavailability is questionable. Considerable research and legislation have been devoted to vitamins and claims that they promote health. However, little has been investigated about the overlap between what is active in our bodies and what is authorised. In this study, we adopt a dual approach: first by presenting the theory and body of evidence on bioavailability and legislation and second by extending this knowledge to a practical case in light of nutrition and health claims. Methods: We selected three vitamins regularly subjected to claims: vitamin C, riboflavin, and folate. By conducting thorough literature research, we evaluated the logical order from how these compounds are used in our bodies (‘In our cells’) through to how they are characterised (‘In regulation’) and how they are measured (‘In the lab’). To illustrate this critical appraisal, we present an analysis of these vitamins from a sample of cucumbers of different varieties. Results: We observed that bioavailability is a rather complex concept for the three vitamins analysed. In particular, in fruits and vegetables, these water-soluble vitamins are registered as unstable and labile during processing and storage. Furthermore, the characterisation of such vitamins in regulations and general knowledge of the targeted compounds seems oversimplified. Likewise, measuring protocols should be detailed and focus on the bioactive forms of vitamins in humans. Discussion: The conclusions from these analyses set out the state-of-the-art on vitamins that can be characterised and measured and the implications of these findings for the use of nutrition and health claims. A better understanding of what each vitamin entails for the decision-makers of claims and users of composition data is needed. These insights will help to harmonise what is measured in the lab, regulated by EU law, and taken up in our cells. Full article

Several factors affect dental implant osseointegration, including surgical issues, bone quality and quantity, and host-related factors, such as patients’ nutritional status. Many micronutrients might play a key role in dental implant osseointegration by influencing some alveolar bone parameters, such as healing of the alveolus after tooth extraction. This scoping review aims to summarize the role of dietary supplements in optimizing osseointegration after implant insertion surgery. A technical expert panel (TEP) of 11 medical specialists with expertise in oral surgery, bone metabolism, nutrition, and orthopedic surgery performed the review following the PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews) model. The TEP identified micronutrients from the “European Union (EU) Register of nutrition and health claims made on foods” that have a relationship with bone and tooth health, and planned a PubMed search, selecting micronutrients previously identified as MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) terms and adding to each of them the words “dental implants” and “osseointegration”. The TEP identified 19 studies concerning vitamin D, magnesium, resveratrol, vitamin C, a mixture of calcium, magnesium, zinc, and vitamin D, and synthetic bone mineral. However, several micronutrients are non-authorized by the “EU Register on nutrition and health claims” for improving bone and/or tooth health. Our scoping review suggests a limited role of nutraceuticals in promoting osseointegration of dental implants, although, in some cases, such as for vitamin D deficiency, there is a clear link among their deficit, reduced osseointegration, and early implant failure, thus requiring an adequate supplementation. Full article