The "chaos" of dietary supplements

(Baonghean) - Recently, due to the increasing demand for functional foods among the people, the market has become rich and diverse. However, no one can guarantee the quality and price of functional foods as advertised or as stated on the label, given the difficulties in management.

Use based on intuition.

Working as an accountant at a business in Trung Tien block, Hung Dung ward (Vinh City), Ms. Nguyen Lan Huong frequently uses dietary supplements whenever she feels stressed or tired. However, she buys and uses these supplements based on recommendations from friends, and currently doesn't remember exactly how long she's been using them, nor the dosage, as her use is purely intuitive – she uses them whenever she feels tired or stressed.

After carefully researching online, Ms. Hoang Thi Quynh (an employee of the Nghe An Post Office) did not hesitate to spend nearly 5 million VND to buy 5 boxes of shark cartilage supplements advertised by the seller as imported from the US, hoping to maintain her youthful appearance. After finishing one box containing 60 capsules, Ms. Quynh not only saw no improvement in her skin but also developed many red spots and experienced digestive problems. When she called the seller for advice, she was told it might be due to an incompatibility with the medication or food that reacted to the ingredients. However, after consulting a doctor about the supplement, Ms. Quynh learned that it was only a post-treatment support medication and did not have the advertised effects. Faced with exaggerated advertising claims for various dietary supplements, many consumers, like Ms. Quynh, have been deceived… According to Dr. Tran Thi Le from the Nghe An Tuberculosis and Lung Disease Hospital, some patients undergoing treatment at the hospital have abandoned their medication and switched to dietary supplements after hearing the enticing advertisements from vendors, thus losing the opportunity to treat their illness.

Consumers find it difficult to choose from a wide range of dietary supplement products. (Image for illustrative purposes only)

On Nguyen Phong Sac and Ton That Tung streets in Vinh City, where many pharmacies are located, numerous types of dietary supplements are advertised by pharmacy staff with "healing" claims, accompanied by exorbitant prices: "Happy Women" beauty supplement for women costs 1,700,000 VND/box, Collagen SH costs 700,000 VND/box, "Women's Formula" costs 650,000 VND/box... Dietary supplements for men are equally abundant, with Khang Hy product costing 810,000 VND/box, Alipas ginseng costing 650,000 VND/box… For the same product, with the same ingredients and effects, the selling price varies from place to place, with differences ranging from tens of thousands to millions of VND per box. Specifically, Herbalife weight loss tea at a pharmacy on Le Viet Thuat Street costs 285,000 VND/box, but at another pharmacy on Ton That Tung Street it costs 240,000 VND/box...

Difficult to manage

Recently, during an inspection of a passenger bus traveling from North to South through Quynh Luu district, Market Management Team No. 4 of the Nghe An Market Management Department seized 160 bottles of dietary supplements of unknown origin and without valid invoices or documents; the value of the shipment was 21,900,000 VND. Many of these supplements were royal jelly capsules and shark cartilage supplements, advertised to help users slow down skin aging, treat cancer, bone and joint problems, cardiovascular diseases, high blood pressure, and diabetes. Previously, the team also seized a shipment of dietary supplements including 12 boxes and 20 kg of vitamin raw materials on a passenger bus traveling from Quang Binh to Hanoi… According to the head of the Market Management Department, market management forces only inspect whether the production and business establishments of dietary supplements display prices and sell at the listed prices, and whether the goods have invoices and documents; they cannot check whether the prices are low or high. And because most pharmacies in our province operate as family-run pharmacies (business conducted right in the home), it is very difficult for authorities to gather evidence to prosecute counterfeit and substandard goods, as these goods are stored in secret locations rather than displayed as samples on the counter.

Through management efforts, it has been observed that in recent times, some unscrupulous businesses, driven by profit, have deliberately violated regulations, particularly those concerning the labeling and advertising of dietary supplements. Some violations include labeling products with medicinal effects; advertising dietary supplements without registering the advertising content, or registering the content but then misrepresenting it. Particularly, there have been cases of advertising dietary supplements as having medicinal effects, leading to consumer misunderstandings about the products' efficacy. In response to this situation, the Ministry of Health has directed local authorities to intensify inspection and monitoring efforts to promptly detect and strictly handle violations.

Every year, in addition to inter-agency inspections, our province organizes three specialized inspections or inspections by product group, with dietary supplements always being a priority item. According to Mr. Hoang Quoc Son, Deputy Head of the Nghe An Food Safety and Hygiene Sub-Department, reviewing and compiling statistics on the number of dietary supplement businesses and the types of dietary supplements in the province is very difficult. Currently, the department only manages over 100 dietary supplement businesses, most of which are pharmacies and drugstores. Businesses that come to Nghe An to advertise and sell dietary supplements in localities all comply with administrative procedures. When a dietary supplement business wants to advertise and sell its products, it must submit an application to the Food Safety and Hygiene Department, which will issue an advertising confirmation; when it wants to operate in localities, the Food Safety and Hygiene Sub-Department will send a letter to the district health center.

Health officials are responsible for monitoring whether product advertising complies with legal regulations and whether the products match the registered documentation. However, the current difficulty is that the Sub-Department only has 20 staff members, and the Food Safety Department at the district health center only has 2-3 staff members, so they can only manage the legal documentation aspect. Controlling whether businesses advertise and sell products that match the registered information is very difficult, and the Sub-Department cannot fully manage it. Meanwhile, some businesses still conduct advertising campaigns to the public outside of regular working hours. “Since the beginning of the year, six establishments have registered to organize seminars and conferences introducing dietary supplements in our province, showcasing 25 different products. It's important to note that dietary supplements only support treatment and disease prevention; they do not replace medication or daily nutritional foods. Therefore, people need to raise their awareness and understand them correctly to use them properly, thereby protecting and improving their own and their family's health,” Mr. Hoang Quoc Son added.

The benefits of dietary supplements are undeniable, but one thing is certain: the prices and uses of dietary supplements currently on the market are not strictly regulated, leading to abuse in many ways. Besides regulation by health authorities, consumers should be more cautious when choosing dietary supplements to avoid wasting money and suffering health consequences.

Mr. Chau