DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS VS CONSUMER SAFETY

Pursuant to food and drug laws, dietary supplements are defined as foodstuffs. Therefore, they are commonly available; this fact causes that the interest therein of health-aware consumers increases. Detailed requirements on this group of foods arc regulated by legal articles resulting from EU directives and regulations, as well as from the Polish domestic law. Among other things, they describe the permissible maximum content levels of vitamins and mineral components, as well as their chemical forms, which can be applied in the dietary supplements. Less precisely determined arc the permissible amounts of biologically active, plant-derived substances including those used in medicinal preparations. Scientific research is still continued; they comprise all aspects of consumer safety as regards the use of those compounds by different groups of people (children, the elderly, people with certain metabolic disorders, etc.). Manufacturers or distributors of foodstuffs being marketed are responsible for their health safety. They must comply with the requirements on how to label their products since the label contents placed on the product packaging should contain, among other things: the clear term "dietary supplement", the recommended daily intake, and the name of a nutrient. The dietary supplementation is a very good remedy to eliminate some nutrition-dependent deficiencies in human organisms. However, it also generates some potential risks to consumers in the case of unreasonable and excessive use of such products.