Micronutrients in Food Supplements for Pregnant Women: European Health Claims Assessment

Abstract

Micronutrients play a critical role in pregnant women, a vulnerable group with higher nutritional requirements. The first strategy to achieve adequate micronutrients intake should always be through a healthy and balanced diet. In the case where the diet is not enough to meet these requirements, food supplements should be prescribed under supervision to complement the diet, and these products must bear reliable information about the declared nutritional contents and health benefits. Based on the data provided by the Coordinated System of Fast Interchange of Information (SCIRI) and to know the current national situation, this work addresses the assessment of the content and the adequacy of health claims related to some micronutrients (vitamin C, vitamin B9, iron, copper, manganese, zinc, calcium, magnesium) contained in food supplements for pregnant women commercialized in Spain. Analytical results coincided with the declared values and were covered by the ranges of tolerances, and samples met the requirements to use health claims. Although the samples could even include more claims, manufacturers could have selected those which either best addressed pregnant women’s conditions or best aligned with marketing intentions. This study confirms an adequate use of health claims in food supplement samples, which could be interesting for strengthening consumers’ confidence in the benefits shown in the labeling and for encouraging the use of health claims as a useful tool for making better-informed purchasing decisions.