Where to find dietary supplements

The most authoritative inquiry channel for regular dietary supplements with blue hat logos sold in China is the special food information inquiry platform of the State Administration for Market Regulation. By entering the approval number or complete product name on the product package, you can find the corresponding complete filing information. Even the approved efficacy range, suitable and contraindicated groups are clearly written, and there is no way to fake them.

Not long ago, my colleague squatted in the live broadcast room and grabbed a bottle of imported fish oil that was said to "help lower blood lipids and has no side effects." The anchor repeatedly emphasized that it had formal blue hat qualifications. After receiving the goods, she did not dare to eat it directly. She first went to the platform to enter the approval number printed on the package. The result was that it was another domestic brand of multivitamins. It was obviously a fake product sold by a merchant. She immediately applied for a return, which not only saved IQ tax, but also avoided harming the body by eating products of unknown origin.

If you are buying overseas dietary supplements from cross-border e-commerce and have not gone through the domestic blue hat approval process, there are corresponding query methods. You can directly check the official regulatory platform of the country of production. For example, you can search the FDA’s dietary supplement registration database for products produced in the United States, and you can check EFSA’s public announcement page for products produced in the EU. You can check whether the product can be sold in compliance with regulations and whether it has any adverse recall records.

Nowadays, many people like to search for the content of third-party review accounts or popular science bloggers before buying. I will also read it before buying it myself. Many well-established accounts will pay for testing by third-party agencies. The actual ingredient content and whether there are any prohibited additions can be tested, which is more valuable than simply reading the registration information. However, this area is indeed controversial. Many people think that there are many commercial cooperation with evaluation accounts, and many of the results are biased publicity for which they are paid. This is really undeniable. Therefore, my habit is to use the evaluation content as a reference for purchase. If I really want to verify compliance and distinguish authenticity, the results from the official platform should prevail. After all, the official registration is like the "household registration file" of the product. The information from other channels is at most "life photos" taken by others. If it is not complete, there are no P-picture modifications.

If you encounter ordinary food supplements that do not have blue hats but are advertised as having health benefits, such as collagen gummies and fruit and vegetable enzyme powders that have been very popular recently, you can look for the SC production number on the package and go to the general food filing platform to check the corresponding production qualifications. At least make sure it is not from a small Sanwu workshop. If the merchant is secretive about the SC number and dare not release it, then don’t take it no matter how cheap it is.