Draft law improving control over food supplements adopted in the second reading
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted in the second reading a government draft law that eliminates the shortcomings of control over the production and circulation of food supplements and harmonizes Ukrainian legislation with that of the European Union.
“When buying a medicine, every patient should clearly understand what they are choosing. However, today the market is full of products that mislead consumers. Every year, Ukrainians spend huge amounts of money on their purchase. In many cases, the effectiveness of such products is not confirmed, and the labeling can be misleading. This not only reduces trust in the market, but also jeopardizes the health of our citizens. The draft law adopted today is intended to resolve this issue. I am grateful to people’s deputies for their support. In addition, this is an important step in harmonizing Ukrainian legislation with the EU legislation and one of our comprehensive measures to reduce the prices of medicines from treatment protocols.”
Previously, unscrupulous entrepreneurs abused the imperfections of state regulation and did not register medicines, selling them as food supplements. This misled consumers and endangered their health.
The draft law defines clear mechanisms for the introduction of food supplements into circulation. It allows the Ministry of Health to approve the list of vitamins, minerals and other substances with nutritional or physiological effects and their maximum permissible doses allowed for use in food supplements. The document also strengthens responsibility for the production and sale of food supplements that do not meet the requirements of the law. The draft law regulates the procedure for submitting notifications on the introduction of food supplements into circulation, maintaining a list of such notifications and posting them on the official website of the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection.
After the first reading, the draft law underwent several changes. In particular, the period during which food supplements that do not comply with the new regulation may be sold on the market was limited. It will be equal to the shelf life of the supplements, but may not exceed three years from the date the law comes into force.
In addition, the cases in which market operators selling food supplements are subject to penalties for violation of the law have been clarified.
For reference: food supplements (updated in accordance with the requirements of the EU Directive to include the term “dietary supplements”) are consumed in addition to the usual diet, alone or in combination with other products. They are sold in the form of capsules, lozenges, tablets and sachets, ampoules with liquids, bottles for drip dosing, etc.