In relation to a recent Which? report the Health Supplements Information Service have reiterated the importance of food supplements in combatting deficiencies. Dr Carrie Ruxton from HSIS commented ‘The report paints an incorrect picture of vitamins being a waste of money when they are in fact essential and many people have poor intakes, and also that health claims are unsubstantiated when the European Commission’s legislative process is not yet complete.’

The EFSA are currently the European Commission (EC) Nutrition and Health claims regulation (2006) requires a list of EU-permitted health claims to be developed. Such claims are currently being assessed by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and some opinions on submitted health claims have been published.

Dr Carrie Ruxton states “However, these opinions are not yet enshrined in law. The European Commission and Member States have yet to decide whether to authorise the claims for use on food, taking into account EFSA’s opinions. Legislation will then be developed by the Commission. Member States will then vote on what claims are to be included in a final list of permitted EU health claims.”

A new report ‘Towards a Healthier Britain 2010’ reviewed key areas where nutrition is lacking and found that as many as 50 per cent of adults and 97 per cent of older people had inadequate intakes of key nutrients. Carrie Ruxton therefore argues that “It is incorrect to say that people waste their money on vitamins. Vitamins are essential substances for health and a significant proportion of the UK population have poor intakes. The report found that a quarter of women have inadequate intakes of iron, more than 50 per cent lack the antioxidant selenium and nearly one in 10 men are low in magnesium. Intakes of iron, magnesium, zinc, iodine and selenium are extremely low in adolescent girls and one in five pre-school children have abnormally low iron stores. A significant number of elderly people are also low in iron.”

The new report also highlights that average intakes of key vitamins and minerals are increased by up to 45% when supplements are taken. It also suggests that blood levels and nutritional status are also improved and that lower levels of vitamins and minerals tend to be seen in people who do not use supplements.