Quality and safety aspects of food supplements

In the last decades an increasing attention has been paid to “nutraceutical science”, involving different products aimed at enhancing consumers’ health: fortified foods, functional foods, some traditional medicine derivatives, and dietary supplements. These products include a spectrum of ingredients ranging from vitamins, minerals, amino acids to botanical preparations. Ensuring the efficacy and safety of nutraceutical products necessitates rigorous quality control measures. Specifically concerning botanicals, particular attention is required for raw materials, including the identification of plant materials, quantification of active molecules responsible for physiological effects as well as adverse effects, the assessment of environmental contaminants or residues from agricultural practices1. Another significant challenge in ensuring consumers’ safety is related to counterfeits or adulteration with illicit substances such as doping agents or conventional drugs, as documented in scientific literature or in national/international notifications. Quality control procedures require the selection of appropriate analytical methods (according to the objectives), capable to identify/quantify the searched molecules. However, quality aspects are only one of the contributors to the onset of adverse effects. Consumers’ awareness, food-related diseases, specific physiological conditions (pregnancy, lactation, childhood, elderly) and the concomitant drug therapies are considered other important cofactors involved in “safety” concept.