Experts are calling for stricter rules for dietary supplements containing botanicals

A group of scientists, doctors and consumer advocates are warning of significant quality and safety problems with dietary supplements containing so-called botanicals. In a letter to the Federal Ministries of Agriculture, Food and Economics, the experts call for an end to the unregulated situation with plant, algae, fungus or lichen-based ingredients in the interests of consumer protection.

There is an urgent need for action, the authors write in the letter, which is available to the German Press Agency. The health of consumers is at risk. Before entering the market, manufacturers simply have to enter their products in a register with the Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety. However, the group criticizes that no official review is planned and points to toxicological risks.

But because the legal requirements for this step are so inadequate, a dispute often follows between the state investigation offices, which point out problems, and the companies' lawyers, who point to their own other analysis methods. “You can always talk your way out of it,” says Hensel. Consumers would be exposed to risks that they cannot recognize.