88% of VMS products tested used illegal health claims

Tests carried out on vitamin and mineral supplements by West Yorkshire councils have shown that 88% of products used illegal health claims.

The tests, which formed part of a wider investigation into food fraud and mislabeling, examined 43 VMS products.

The brands and products said to have been in breach of the EU Nutrition & Health Claims Regulation have not been directly named. However, West Yorkshire is required by law to inform the ‘home authority’ of illegal claims, which may in turn take enforcement action.

Last summer the consumer group Which? singled out several probiotic and glucosamine products that it said were illegally continuing to use claims for digestive support and joint relief respectively.