Danish authorities clamp down on in-store supplement marketing
Soren Kristensen of the Food Lens Flying Squad told NutraIngredients.com that 50 stores across the subject have been subject to random, unannounced inspections over the last two weeks, out of a total 1200 stores selling supplements.
One of the main practices inspectors have been checking for is the sale of supplements making medicinal claims, “for example, claiming a garlic product can cure some kind of disease”. The country is looking to curb this kind of misleading marketing not only in the context of the new health claims regulation, but also in light of long-standing national legislation that makes medicinal claims for supplements illegal.
In addition, they have been looking out for the mixing of products on shelves that may make shoppers think certain products are supplements for human use when they are not.
An example of such practice would be positioning stevia – which is not yet approved as a food in the EU – on a shelf with other sweeteners or sugars. In such a case a stevia product might be labelled as having a cosmetic use, such as whitening teeth (although a spokesperson said she is not even sure stevia can whiten teeth).
Another supplement that may be misleadingly placed on the human dietary supplements shelf is MSM (methyl-sulfonyl-methane) intended for animal use to help alleviate arthritis. Although MSM is used in supplements for humans in other countries, in Denmark it is considered an additive and each finished product must have pre-market approval.
The spokesperson said that no company has applied for approval for a MSM product to be sold in Denmark to date.
Findings and fines
Kristensen said the full results of the campaign are not yet available, but it is clear that misleading in-store marketing “is a problem in some stores”.
He said that stores found to be at fault would receive a warning, and the inspectors would follow up in the coming months. In the worst cases, or if improvements are not made, the Food Adminstration may impose fines of around DKK 10,000 (around €1340 at today’s exchange rates).
