The Verkhovna Rada has strengthened control over the circulation of dietary supplements
6 December 10:35
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has adopted in the second reading a government bill that eliminates the shortcomings of control over the production and circulation of dietary supplements. This was reported by the Ministry of Health, Komersant ukrainskyi reports.
The Ministry also emphasized that the adopted law promotes the harmonization of Ukrainian legislation with the legislation of the European Union.
“Every patient, when purchasing a medicine, 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 adopted draft law aims to resolve these issues. In addition, it 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,” commented Viktor Liashko, Minister of Health of Ukraine.
How the circulation of dietary supplements will change
Previously, unscrupulous entrepreneurs abused the imperfections of state regulation and did not register medicines, selling them as dietary supplements, which misled consumers and endangered their health.
According to the Ministry of Health, the draft law defines clear mechanisms for introducing dietary 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 dietary 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 additives 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 dietary 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 dietary supplements are subject to penalties for violation of the law have been clarified.
The Ministry of Health also explained that food supplements are the name of “dietary supplements” updated in accordance with the requirements of the EU directive. They are consumed in addition to the usual diet, separately or in combination with other products, and are sold in the form of capsules, lozenges, tablets and sachets, ampoules with liquids, bottles for drip dosing, etc.
