The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is working on making regulations for nutraceuticals and health supplements more stringent after finding many non-compliant products in the market, according to officials.
Nutraceuticals are products derived from food sources that are believed to provide extra health benefits beyond the basic nutritional value found in foods. They can be available in the form of pills, syrups, capsules, powders, gummies, and chewables.
“The popularity of these products has increased manifold as consumers have become more health conscious,” said a senior FSSAI official, who did not wish to be identified. “We want to make the standards more stringent for the safety of consumers.”
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According to the official, the authority had received numerous complaints regarding non-compliant health supplements being sold in the market. Subsequently, it initiated a nationwide drive to inspect nutraceuticals and health supplements, ensuring quality and safety throughout their manufacturing and sale process.
The issue was discussed by the scientific panel of the food authority recently, as stated by the official. They highlighted that due to the availability of health supplements over the counter, there is a risk of consuming multiple nutrients whose actions might antagonize each other.
He mentioned that because of the unsupervised usage of supplements, individuals often consume them alongside medications, leading to potential interactions that could result in adverse effects.
According to a survey conducted by research firm Pronto Consult, which analyzed nearly 13,000 bills across 15 cities, nutraceuticals constituted 31% of all billings at chemists in September 2023. The survey suggested a significant year-on-year growth of 24% in this segment.
The regulation for the nutraceutical and health supplement category of products was initially enforced in 2018.
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Several changes and amendments were made to them by the FSSAI, with the latest occurring in 2022.
These regulations encompass eight categories of products, including health supplements, nutraceuticals, food for special dietary use, food for special medical purposes, specialty food containing plant or botanicals, foods containing probiotics and prebiotics, and novel foods.
Last year, the FSSAI also issued advisories regarding the implementation of special enforcement drives aimed at verifying the compliance of nutraceuticals and health supplements. As part of the drive, several facilities operating in Baddi, Himachal Pradesh, were inspected and samples collected by the food authority.