Food supplements for a good supply of nutrients

A safe way to supplement the daily diet in a targeted manner

30-Jun-2022 - Germany

20 years ago, the European legislator stipulated that there should be foods that enable consumers to supplement their daily diet with vitamins, minerals and other important substances: food supplements. The most important reason for this decision was the realization that, despite the extensive range of foods on offer in the European Union, an adequate supply of vitamins and minerals is not always available. Today, 20 years after the adoption of the directive on food supplements, this has not changed. For vitamins D and E, for example, or for calcium and iron, the recommended intakes are still frequently not reached throughout Europe. In Germany, for example, 60 percent of Germans do not reach the intake recommendations for vitamin D. 85 percent of young women do not take enough folate. For vitamin E and calcium, only 45 to 55 percent meet the recommendations.

Thus it is also again and again maintained, food auxiliary means are superfluous or even unsafe. The opposite is correct, stresses Antje Preußker, scientific direction with the food federation for the working group food auxiliary means (AK NEM): Food auxiliary means are safe food. This is ensured not only by the Food Supplements Directive, but by the entire food law applicable to food supplements. Because food supplements must be just as safe as any other food, otherwise they may not be marketed." In addition to the general requirements for all foods, safety is guaranteed not only by the approval of the vitamins and minerals used by the legislature, but also by special labeling obligations. Among other things, the nutrients contained must be stated, including the exact amounts, the recommended daily intake, and a warning that this must not be exceeded. Surveys show that consumers follow the instructions, consciously select vitamins and minerals according to their individual needs, and understand that the purpose of dietary supplements is to supplement the diet [1] .

The safety and legal compliance of the products is controlled not only by the food companies' own controls, but also by external laboratories and the competent food monitoring authorities. The following applies: Before each food supplement is allowed to be sold, it is notified to the Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL) to ensure that the products are covered by food monitoring. This ensures complete market transparency.

As part of a balanced diet, dietary supplements can help to ensure that the body is adequately supplied with vitamins and minerals and thus serve to keep individuals healthy - and can thus also contribute to considerable savings for thehealthcare system. Antje Preußker: "Studies [2] show that, for example, a better supply of calcium and vitamin D could help to save around 1.09 billion euros per year in healthcare costs in Germany alone by preventing osteoporosis-related bone fractures. The potential that a secure supply of nutrients also has in other areas, such as a functioning immune system or improved cognitive performance in old age, should be better exploited by the German healthcare system."

[1] Representative Survey on Dietary Supplements, 2015, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz University of Hannover, Institute of Food Science and Human Nutrition, in cooperation with the Society for Consumer Research ( https://ots.de/Fj1hoq)

[2] Healthcare Cost Savings of Calcium and Vitamin D Food Supplements in the European Union: Exploring the Burden of Osteoporosis-attributed Bone Fractures in the European Union and the Benefits of Calcium + Vitamin D Food Supplements (2017) Food Supplements Europe and Frost & Sullivan.

Note: This article has been translated using a computer system without human intervention. LUMITOS offers these automatic translations to present a wider range of current news. Since this article has been translated with automatic translation, it is possible that it contains errors in vocabulary, syntax or grammar. The original article in German can be found here.

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