The market for food supplements has never done so well… But is it to the detriment of consumers. A investigation published this Monday by the Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Prevention ( DGCCRF) and relayed by Capital points the finger at bad industrial practices.
A study of 75 references
In 2020, the organization screened 75 food supplement references sold both online than in physical stores. The figures speak for themselves: 6 out of 10 were singled out for unauthorized nutritional, therapeutic or health claims.
The DGCCRF notes the presence of 33 prohibited health claims such as: “Pineapple is a natural slimming active ingredient” or “Dolomite promotes calcium fixation”. 38 products present unauthorized therapeutic claims: “Propolis is a natural antibiotic” or “cucumber oil treats psychiatric illnesses”.
Omissions of mandatory mentions
30 operators completely forgot to include some “of the mandatory information provided for by Regulation No. 1924/2006 and by other regulatory texts” such as the list of ingredients or the net weight of the product.
The other products tested contained non-compliant nutritional claims, such as a vitamin content that was too low for the customer to benefit from a real positive impact on their health.
