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Berlin (dpa) - The black-red coalition is pushing for stricter EU-wide requirements for dietary supplements such as capsules or tablets.

In excessively high doses, the intake of certain vitamins and minerals can be harmful to health, according to a motion by the government groups of the Union and SPD in the Bundestag. It was therefore an important step forward that work on EU-wide rules on maximum levels had recently resumed. This is also necessary for products such as juices, corn flakes or mixed milk drinks that are fortified with vitamins and minerals. The Bundestag should ask the federal government to get actively involved in this.

Food Minister Julia Klöckner (CDU) said at the request of the German Press Agency that protecting the health of consumers was her top priority.

This requires clear and binding European rules for food supplements - and this definition is overdue.

"In order to guarantee legal certainty as well as effective monitoring and control, we need uniformity in the internal market, not a patchwork quilt."

Klöckner emphasized that the responsible EU commissioner had taken up a corresponding German initiative.

"We have the clear expectation that this will be pushed further."

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In the application, the Union and SPD also criticize offers on the Internet that have turned out to be "particularly problematic".

In the corona crisis, dubious providers also advertised products with "prohibited promises of action on Covid-19".

Some of them would be marketed without the mandatory notification to the Federal Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety.

More must be done here by checking online offers in the same way as those in pharmacies, drugstores and supermarkets.

The federal government should also intensify educational work and address important multipliers such as paediatricians and youth trainers.

In addition, there is a need for research on nutrient supply and dietary supplements, especially for risk groups such as children, pregnant women, breastfeeding women and the elderly.

Consumer advocates have long been calling for stricter rules.

In addition to maximum quantities of vitamins and minerals, the Federal Association of Consumer Centers also requested a “positive list” of non-harmful ingredients for herbal-based preparations.

In general, dietary supplements are considered to be food and not drugs with their own specific approval rules.

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210428-99-383931 / 3