Vitamin content higher than labelling

Related tags Vitamin

People in Finland hoping to quench their thirst by downing a drink
full of assorted vitamins could get more than they bargained for, a
study published by the country's National Food Agency found on
Wednesday.

People in Finland hoping to quench their thirst by downing a drink full of assorted vitamins could get more than they bargained for, a study published by the country's National Food Agency found on Wednesday.

The agency said 42 per cent, or eight out of 19, multivitamin drinks tested by it and the National Customs Board laboratory contained significantly greater amounts of vitamins than indicated by labelling.

For example vitamin C content in some products exceeded the declared amount by up to 200 percent, the agency said in a statement.

A spokeswoman for the body declined to name companies, but said only five of the tested products were made by domestic firms while the rest were imported.

"(The sample includes) more or less all the multivitamin drinks available in Finnish shops, but this is clearly a growing product group,''​ Senior Officer Annika Nurttila told Reuters.

Prolonged excessive consumption of vitamins A and D as well as niacin, folic acid and all minerals could be harmful, Nurttila said, but added there was no immediate danger from consuming any of the products tested.

"The primary concern is one of consumers being duped. Package descriptions should comply with the contents of the package,''​ she said.

"There are increasingly a large number of vitamin enriched products in shops... and if a person uses several vitamin enriched products and also takes vitamin supplements there is the risk of total consumption rising too high,''​ Nurttila added.

She said producers and importers of the products involved had been contacted, and local food control officers in Finland were working to ensure package labelling was corrected.

Companies contacted said the heavy vitamin content was due to uncertainty over how long products would remain on the shelf, she said.

"There is limited knowledge of how added vitamins in different foodstuffs break down over time, and producers have wanted to ensure that the vitamin content remains until the sell-by date,''​ Nurttila said.

Related topics Science

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