The EU Heads of Food Safety Agencies (HoA) recently published a list of 117 substances that should be prohibited or restricted in food supplements to protect public health.

In the EU, the oversight of “other substances” with functional effects in food supplements is only harmonized for specific ingredients named in EU regulations on fortified foods (EC No 1925/2006) and novel foods (EU 2017/2470). To expand consumer protection from substances added to food supplements, HoA established a Food Supplements Working Group comprising experts from 26 Member States to come to a consensus about which “other substances” should be restricted and how these substances are managed and assessed. HoA recommends achieving legal status in EU food law for its list of risky “other substances” through their addition to EC No 1925/2006.