Food supplements in Poland in context of issues related to their safety as food

Abstract

In Poland, food supplements have been popular among consumers for many years. Their sale brings producers huge profits. The interest in these products, especially in vitamin and mineral preparations and in immunity-supporting products increased dramatically due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Self-medication with untested dietary supplements may be health hazardous. Since in Poland and in other countries the procedures of quality control of food supplements are imperfect, this situation raises serious concerns about the risks of their unrestricted use and food fraud. The article briefly presents important problems in the safety of food supplements from the point of view of experts involved in their evaluation.

Keywords

• food supplements
• health risk
• herbal substances
• food fraud
• safety