Health claims listed on the labels of food supplements contain voluntary information that should facilitate consumers' choices, while mandatory precautions and warnings are intended to safeguard consumers' well-being. Consumers' interest in health has fueled the expansion of the market of omega-3 fatty acid (w-3-FA) supplements.
This is a cross-sectional study focused on the evaluation of the regulatory compliance of health claims (according to the EU register of health claims) and mandatory statements on the labels of w-3-FA supplements, produced in numerous European countries and marketed in Serbia, whose regulatory framework is harmonized with the one in the EU, but in contrast requires the premarket registration of food supplements.
Verbal health claims related to the active substance were listed on the labels of 76 out of 97 supplements, but only 68 related to w-3-FA, 59 of which had claims that were compliant with regulations (31 supplements presented a single claim and 28 presented multiple ones, with 107 claims in total). The most frequently encountered claims targeting the general adult population were the following: EPA and DHA contribute to normal heart function (42); DHA contributes to normal brain function (13) and vision (10). On supplements intended for pregnant women, the dominant claims were that DHA maternal intake contributes to the normal brain (10) and eye development (10) of the foetus and breastfed infants. Normal visual development was the main proclaimed benefit on supplements for infants. However, the calculated intake of w-3-FA, based on the labelled content and recommended use, was not always appropriate to support the given claims (one supplement provided only 6% of the required dose). Additionally, although the majority of the supplements contained mandatory statements, that was not always the case.
Along with questionable consumer understanding of health promotion claims, the volume and severity of misleading claims is posing considerable concerns for public health, urging stricter control of supplement labeling.
