New proposals from Sweden’s National Food Administration for maximum limits on vitamin D and iodine supplements are “discriminatory” and would harm the country’s health food sector, trade group Svensk Egenvård (Swedish Self-care) has warned.
Earlier this month, the government agency announced proposals to Impose maximum limits on vitamin D and iodine in an effort to reduce the risk of consuming excessive quantities. The National Food Administration says it chose to act on vitamin D and iodine specifically “because there is strong scientific evidence that the consequences of ingesting too high levels can be serious”.
Commenting on the proposal, Jan Sjögren, head of department at the National Food Administration, said: “With the new maximum limits, it will be safer for people who eat supplements with vitamin D or iodine because they do not risk ingesting too much of these substances by mistake”.
The proposed limits are 100 micrograms (µg) for vitamin D and 200 micrograms (µg) for iodine. The proposal will now go the European Union, where a decision is likely to take about three months.
“No one has been able to show that the Swedish population suffers from excessive nutritional intake. It would be more natural to fight the overconsumption of refined sugar instead of vitamins and minerals.”
Ahead of the announcement, Svensk Egenvård said that the Swedish government agency had failed to present any data showing actual risk of overconsumption, adding that its proposal was “contrary to EU case law”. The trade group also argues that the plan, if implemented, would harm the Swedish supplements sector and the country’s health stores, by forcing consumers to buy from other countries and poorly regulated online sources.
Peter Hencz, chairman of Svensk Egenvård, said: “The National Food Administration is now trying to fix a problem that does not exist. No one has been able to show that the Swedish population suffers from excessive nutritional intake. It would be more natural to fight the overconsumption of refined sugar instead of vitamins and minerals.”