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Economic Alternatives, 2018, Issue 4, pp. 549-565 Dietary Supplements Consumer Protection in a Global Market Luiela Magdalena Csorba*1 in order to inform/protect consumers all over the world regarding the risks involved when Summary buying or consuming such products. This article is a review paper, which aims This article intends to be just a preamble to present a global analysis of a real issue for further research on the same topic. contemporary society is facing: safety in food Keywords: consumer protection, supplements consumption. More specifically, food supplements, dietary supplements, we intend to answer the following questions: controversies, safety. Are the dietary supplements offered on the JEL Classification: M31, D18, I12, C10 global market harmless for the consumers? 1. Introduction How do dietary supplements protect s an important aspect of the social consumers’ health and life against risky Aprotection programs which must be and fake products? Who regulates the food promoted by a democratic society, consumer supplements market in the United States and protection presents a set of provisions on in the European Union? public and private initiative, designed to ensure The international literature approaches and continuously improve the consumers’ life studies regarding the efficacy and standards and safety. effectiveness of dietary supplements, and Recently, consumer protection has research papers which highlight the dietary experienced an unprecedented development. supplements consumer behavior from a If until recently the food or cosmetics industry medical or consumer protection point of consumer protection was actively advertised, view. We are interested in finding out not only nowadays, the studies have become so if the consumption of dietary supplements numerous that it is interesting to analyze is risky for the consumers health, but also not only the consumer protection related to the perception and initiatives performed traditional goods and services: textiles, toys, by the authorities concerning the dietary travel services, insurance services, banking supplements safety and the measures taken and financial services etc, but also the sector in order to solve the consumer protection of some “special” goods/services, like: drugs, issue in that field. In this context, we started health care services, postal services, air our study using as background the specific transport services, and so on. features of the dietary supplements global Human needs have been increasing in market, the regulation of this market in Europe number year after year, while the economic and in the USA, discussing which are the ways resources have been drastically decreasing. used by the main international organizations Human requirements exceed the resource needs of the natural systems of the Earth, * Assoc. prof. PhD., University “Aurel Vlaicu” of Arad, Romania generating high expectations in goods 549 Articles Dietary Supplements Consumer Protection in a Global Market and services consumption. Contemporary food supplements and dietary supplements. consumers no longer purchase - like in the A dietary supplement is a manufactured past - products/services which are necessary product intended to supplement the diet, and on strictly everyday basis, regardless of its nutrients are either extracted from natural their quality. The quality of the products and products or are synthetic. Food supplements, services has become a key determinant of the also called nutritional supplements, are any competitiveness of producers and suppliers. dietary supplements that intend to provide In terms of quality, nowadays food does nutrients that may otherwise not be consumed not have the same characteristics as in the in sufficient quantities. Food supplements are past, when massive pollution and chemicals concentrated sources of nutrients (minerals were not part of people’s lives. At the same and vitamins) or other substances with a time, the industrial processing techniques nutritional or physiological effect that are have led to decreasing the natural content of marketed in “dose” form (e.g. pills, tablets, food, creating also a toxic nutritional medium capsules, liquids in measured doses) (nature. for the body. Because of the trend observed com/subjects, 2018). Dietary supplements in risky food consumption, conditions for the could be found in different forms: vitamins, development of a dietary supplements market herbal supplements, botanical, sport, beauty were created, taking also into consideration supplements, and so on. So, without diminishing the fact that necessary ingredients which favor the importance of the definitions presented the wellbeing of the human body can be found above, and even if nutritional supplements in the form of dietary or food supplements. are just a type of dietary supplements, in this The importance of food supplements results paper we will consider the two terms as being from their property to complement regular synonyms. food, in order to achieve certain goals: good The Dietary Supplement Health and health, boosting energy, loss of weight, Education Act (DSHEA, 1994) defined a dietary delaying aging processes, boosting mental supplement as a product that supplements and sexual performances, improving digestion the food consumed daily; contains one or and boosting immunity. more dietary ingredients (including vitamins, International literature is subjective in minerals, herbs or other botanicals, amino defining the dietary/food supplements concept. acids, other substances); comes in pill, This involves the need for raising the following capsule, tablet or liquid form and is labeled as question: are dietary and food supplements synonymous? Some studies showed that a dietary supplement. the two concepts highlight the same type of Generally, there are different types of product, Sirico et al. (2018). Another point of dietary supplements, like (DSHEA, 1994): view suggests that food supplements are just a) Vitamin and mineral supplements - a type of dietary supplements (nature.com, micronutrients that serve a specific purpose 2018). We concluded that the term “dietary and benefit the body in a unique way, having supplements” refers to one used mostly in also a positive effect on mental health. America in order to indicate food supplements, Vitamin and mineral deficiency can reduce while “food supplements” is the same concept the body’s ability to heal and protect itself. A and product (dietary supplement), but used general multivitamin and mineral supplement mostly in Europe. In order to formulate a final can be a good safeguard against periodic opinion regarding this issue, we have to state, nutrient shortfalls in the consumer’s diet. first of all, that in Romania, the greatest part Mineral supplements come in tablet or gel- of the consumers do not distinguish between capsule form, in powders added to water, in 550 Economic Alternatives, Issue 4, 2018 Articles meal replacement bars and shakes which are protection issue, which is common in today’s used for weight loss. global market all over the world. Reducing b) Herbal supplements - they are different the area of consumer protection only to the from vitamins and mineral supplements dietary supplements consumption, it focuses, because they are considered to have in essence, on the following objectives: medicinal value. Herbs (botanicals) are y high quality supervision of the dietary one of the oldest health care tools, and the supplements offered on the global market basis of many modern medicines. Primitive (including the counterfeit supplements and ancient civilizations relied on herbs for sold over the Internet); healing, as do many contemporary cultures y correct and complete consumer around the world. In fact, WHO (The World information regarding the safety and Health Organization) has estimated that 80% the hidden adverse effects of the food of the world’s population continues to use supplements launched on the market; traditional therapies, a major part of which are y high protection against subliminal and derived from plants. aggressive advertisements. c) Whole food supplements - made of The main goals of the dietary supplements blends of concentrated, dehydrated whole consumer protection must be effectiveness and foods, sometimes with added vitamins and safety. As all drugs can harm as well as help, minerals. Since the nutrients are combined in safety is relative. To use food supplements in a the way as they are in natural food, the body responsible way, the consumer must adhere to can use and absorb them better. Whole food a list of principles. Dietary supplements users supplements tend to be much more expensive must understand and inform themselves about than conventional supplements. the effects and legal status of the product they In the last years, a growing number are taking, to measure accurate dosages, to of people have been concerned about take other precautions to reduce a potential maintaining and improving their health; risk which may occur when consuming those because of that they become loyal customers supplements (Duncan and Gold, 1982). of food supplements. More than half of the This article is a review paper, which aims to adults in the USA daily use at least one type make a global analysis of the above mentioned of food supplement, the most common being actual issue of the contemporary society: multivitamins. The increasing number of older how are the dietary supplements consumers people in North America leads to an increase around the world protected? At the same time, in the demand for food supplements. Europe the paper analyzes the international dietary is on second place in the list of the largest supplements market and the way this market food supplements markets. Growing aging is regulated, especially in the USA and EU, population, increasing lifestyle diseases taking into account, first of all, the adverse side and rising healthcare costs are some of the of consuming improper dietary supplements significant factors driving the growth of the which are easily marketed through several dietary supplements market not only in Europe, channels. The federal corporations are playing but all over the world (nutraingredients.com, a main role internationally, because they have 2017). to satisfy the greatest part of the demand Dietary supplements aren’t always safe coming from the global dietary supplements or harmless. Even “natural” supplements can market. However, factors such as subliminal be risky or may be tainted with dangerous advertising, the risk of buying fake products chemicals. That’s why this paper aims to and the lack of information regarding the focus on the dietary supplements consumer use and dosage of dietary supplements 551 Articles Dietary Supplements Consumer Protection in a Global Market are expected to impact negatively the food National Center for Complementary and supplements market growth in the future, Integrative Health, almost 40% of the adults should the global consumer protection policies in the U.S. use multivitamins, the most in that field prove inefficient. common food supplement. Sports nutrition is expected to be one of the fastest growing 2. The global dietary supplements market dietary supplements market segment because New food supplements brands and of the increasing number of health clubs and products that promise good health are offered fitness centers. Vitamin supplements were every year on the global market. The growth used extensively, accounting for around of the food supplements market is determined 42% of the global market share in 2016 by an increase in the consumer’s awareness (futuremarketinsights.com, 2016). of preventing health problems. Asia-Pacific was the largest market for The segmentation of the global market for dietary supplements in 2016, followed by dietary supplements is based on the demand North America with 28% of the total market for weight loss, nutrition, sports, general (zionmarketresearch, 2017). wellbeing, immune and digestive health, In terms of value, North America reached bone and joint health, heart health, beauty a 32% share of the food supplements global supplements etc. In terms of value, the general market in 2016, being the world leader, while welfare segment represents 26.5% of the Europe owned 14% of the global market in the revenue share of the global food supplement same year (nutraingredients.com, 2016). market, while the immune and digestive health Latin America is seen as a market with segment represents 19.6% of the international a high potential for dietary supplements in market (futuremarketinsights.com, 2016). the upcoming years, because the urban The major producers of food supplements population and the middle-class consumer on the world market are Herbalife International, income is rising and the retail channels are BASF SE, E. I. Du Pont de Nemours, Glanbia being modernized. Plc, Royal DSM NV, Abbott Laboratories, The Middle East and Africa present a region Amway Enterprises, NBTY Inc, Bayer AG, with a huge potential for dietary supplements, Aboca, Sanofi, Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline with an economic activity which is expected to Limited. These companies are mainly focused boost the dietary supplements market in the on product innovation, in order to expand region (zionmarketresearch, 2017). their product portfolios, to meet the diverse In 2016, Europe was one of the leading requirements of various end-user industries markets for dietary supplements. Recently, and to enhance their market presence. European consumers have started showing It was estimated that in 2015 the global food great interest in healthy lifestyle which in turn supplements market amounted to 68 billion US drives the consumption of healthy food. In dollars and was segmented into seven major Europe, Western Europe is the leading market regions: North America, Latin America, Eastern for dietary supplement, having a high growth Europe, Western Europe, Asia-Pacific-Japan, potential in the future. Middle East and Africa. Taking into account the Some of the key manufacturers of global ingredients found in dietary supplements, the dietary supplements in the European market market was divided into botanicals, vitamins, include Amway Enterprises, Integrated minerals, amino acids, enzymes. BioPharma, Inc, NBTY Inc, Herbalife Ltd., Omega Protein Corporation, Nu Skin The global dietary supplements market was valued at USD 132.8 billion in Enterprises, Inc, Bayer AG, Naturalife Asia 2016 and is expected to reach USD 220.3 Co., Ltd., Blackmores Ltd., BASF SE, Epax AS, billion in 2022, estimated to grow at a CAGR Surya Herbal Ltd., Koninklijke DSM N.V., Bio- (compound annual growth rate) of 8.8% Botanica Inc., The Himalaya Drug Company, between 2017 and 2022. According to the Ricola AG, Pharmavite LLC, among others. 552 Economic Alternatives, Issue 4, 2018
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