Food allergen traceability for food Supplements

In Denmark, 51.0 percent of men and 65.8 percent of women take one or more dietary supplements. With an increasing number of users across the European continent, it is essential that more must be done to ensure product fidelity and ultimately protect consumers. Though many dietary supplements consist of naturally occurring ingredients, the industry has not been without scandal.

- Chris Brown and Thomas Roden

Over the period of 2008 to 2011, the Government Accountability Office of the United States received 6,307 reports of health problems from the consumption of dietary supplements. Subsequent testing of herbal dietary supplements found that 80 percent of tested products, in fact, contained chemical contaminants. Pairing this with the current worldwide rise in allergies, where seven percent of children have been diagnosed with allergies, compared to just three percent of the adult population paints a worrying picture, it’s clear that the growth in supplement consumption must be paired with growth in traceability from the dietary supplement industry. Supplements manufacturers need to embrace clear traceability procedures to ensure that only high-quality supplements enter the market. Especially as the risk to consumers is high, even one mistake can cause long-lasting, and potentially fatal consequences. In 2015, the American market for dietary supplements was valued at $37 billion with the economic impact in the United States for 2016 estimated at $122 billion, including employment wages and taxes. One 2016 analysis estimated the total market for dietary supplements could reach $278 billion worldwide by 2024.