Who authorizes those weird cocktails called food supplements?
The letter from Stefano Biasioli, endocrinologist and nephrologist
Gentlemen,
I am Dr. Sefano Biasioli , endocrinologist and nephrologist: I recently wrote a text on Senescence and I am now writing a text on thyroid (information for patients).
I thus became aware of a reality unknown to me until now. That of food supplements.
I wasted hours elaborating tables relating to the contents of dozens of supplements and I must say with regret that I came across food supplements with the strangest associations: hydro + fat-soluble vitamins, micro-macroelements, nutraceuticals of various extraction.
Very often the contents exceed the daily quantities considered ideal and sometimes even the maximum limits.
I ask you:
a) when you authorize the marketing of these supplements, do you check the quantities of the individual components and their qualitative composition?
b) how many food supplements, accepted by EFSA , then obtain an authorization also from the Ministry of Health?
c) Have any studies been carried out by you on these aspects?
I realize that I ask "annoying" questions, but I believe it is essential (also given the explosion in the consumption of these supplements in times of Covid) to obtain comprehensive answers.
I'm waiting,
Stefano Biasioli
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/sanita/chi-autorizza-quegli-strani-cocktail-chiamati-integratori-alimentari/ on Sat, 05 Jun 2021 06:20:53 +0000.