What to do if dietary supplements don’t have bluegrass

Don't rush to directly judge it as a poor quality product and throw it away. You must first understand the attributes of the product before making a judgment.

Many people mistakenly believe that all dietary supplements must carry a blue hat (which is often referred to as "blue hat"). In fact, this is not the case at all. Our country's management of dietary supplements is divided into two categories. One type is health food that claims to have specific health functions. This type is mandatory to have a blue hat. The other category is dietary nutritional supplement products with common food attributes, such as the now common lutein gummies, collagen drinks, and imported multivitamin tablets. As long as the ingredients are in the common food catalog and the products are produced according to the common food declaration, there is no need to apply for a blue hat.

Two months ago, my mother grabbed two boxes of sweet orange-flavored Vitamin C effervescent tablets from the live broadcast room. When she came back, she was worried that she couldn't find the blue caps and was afraid they were fakes. I looked through the packaging and saw a clear production license number starting with SC.

Of course, there are different opinions on this matter in the industry. Several doctors in the nutrition department of tertiary hospitals I know suggest that if you buy dietary supplements for specific effects, such as helping to lower blood lipids and improve sleep, you are right to give priority to those with blue hats. After all, blue hat products need to undergo toxicological tests and functional tests. The content and safety of the active ingredients are officially endorsed, and the chance of being cheated is much lower. In the past two years, a "liver-protecting tablet" without a blue cap was exposed. It was promoted as being able to relieve hangover and protect the liver. In actual testing, there were not many active ingredients of kudzu root and milk thistle. Not only was it wasted money, but it would be troublesome if it was delayed in conditioning. But Fa Xiao, who is engaged in food research and development, also mentioned to me that many emerging nutritional ingredients, such as PQQ and ergothioneine, which have become popular in recent years, have not yet been included in the catalog of available raw materials for health foods. There is no way to apply for a blue hat. You can't just label all such products as unqualified, right? As long as it is produced by a regular manufacturer and has a complete quality inspection report, there is no problem in choosing according to your needs.

Don’t panic if you encounter a product without a blue hat. First, check the packaging to find the qualification. For domestically produced products, look for the food production license number starting with SC. You can check in the official database to know whether it is from a regular manufacturer. For imported products, look for the traceability code and entry and exit code on the Chinese label. If you can find the corresponding information on the inspection and quarantine certificate, you can eat it with confidence. If the manufacturer, production date, and shelf life are vaguely printed on the package, and no qualifications can be found, then it is definitely a three-no product. Don’t hesitate to throw it away. It will cause harm to your health but not worth the loss.

Oh, and a reminder, don’t believe those merchants who say “We are overseas products and don’t need blue hats.” Regularly imported dietary supplements must have Chinese labels even if they don’t have blue hats. You can check the relevant records of import customs clearance. Most of the products without anything are smuggled or fake, so don’t step in for petty gains.