Food Supplements Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003

Restrictions on sale relating to labelling etc. of food supplements

6.—(1) No person shall sell a food supplement which is ready for delivery to the ultimate consumer or to a catering establishment unless the name under which it is sold is “food supplement”.

(2) Without prejudice to the Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996(1), no person shall sell a food supplement which is ready for delivery to the ultimate consumer or to a catering establishment unless it is marked or labelled with the following particulars –

(a)the name of the category of any vitamin or mineral or other substance with a nutritional or physiological effect which characterises the product or an indication of the nature of that vitamin or mineral or other substance;

(b)the portion of the product recommended for daily consumption;

(c)a warning not to exceed the stated recommended daily dose;

(d)a statement to the effect that food supplements should not be used as a substitute for a varied diet;

(e)a statement to the effect that the product should be stored out of the reach of young children; and

(f)the amount of any vitamin or mineral or other substance with a nutritional or physiological effect which is present in the product.

(3) The information required by paragraph (2)(f) shall –

(a)be given in numerical form;

(b)in the case of a vitamin or mineral listed in column 1 of Schedule 1, be given using the relevant unit specified in column 2 of that Schedule;

(c)be the amount per portion of the product as recommended for daily consumption on the labelling of the product;

(d)be an average amount based on the manufacturer’s analysis of the product; and

(e)in the case of a vitamin or mineral listed in the Annex to Council Directive 90/496/EEC(2) on nutrition labelling for foodstuffs, be expressed also as a percentage (which may also be given in graphical form) of the relevant recommended daily allowance specified in that Annex.

(4) No person shall sell any food supplement which is ready for delivery to the ultimate consumer or to a catering establishment if the labelling, presentation or advertising of that food supplement includes any mention, express or implied, that a balanced and varied diet cannot provide appropriate quantities of nutrients in general.