Counterfeits concentrated in online channels are the biggest risk for food supplement brands.
Implementation
Marketplaces, social media sales accounts, digital advertising, domain names and app stores are monitored; sales at addresses the brand has not declared and counterfeit listings are documented with their date and content. Takedown requests are filed and followed to conclusion; whether removed content reappears is also monitored.
Food supplements are not medicines, yet they are associated with health and are largely sold through online channels. In Türkiye these products are placed on the market with the approval of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, and the list of approved products can be queried through the Ministry's system. The legislation provides that sales are limited to the business's own sales points, the internet addresses it has declared and its contracted direct sellers. Even so, products with different contents going on sale under the name and packaging of an approved product is one of the risks consumers find hardest to tell apart.
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Data
Dietary and supplement food cases flagged for suspected fraud in the EU ACN in 2025
Source: Avrupa Komisyonu, Alert and Cooperation Network 2025 Annual ReportApproximate share of ACN cases in this group flagged as possible fraud
Source: Avrupa Komisyonu, Alert and Cooperation Network 2025 Annual ReportShare of cases in the same group linked to online sales
Source: Avrupa Komisyonu, Alert and Cooperation Network 2025 Annual ReportRisks
The name and packaging of an approved product can be copied to sell products that have not been approved or have different contents. A consumer cannot tell from the packaging whether the box in their hand really is the brand's approved product.
In EU notifications, substances such as sildenafil, tadalafil, sibutramine and yohimbine stand out as problems in supplement products. When such products are sold under a brand's name, a health risk and reputational damage arise together.
Products can be sold at a discount on internet addresses the brand has not declared, on marketplaces and on social media accounts. In the EU's 2025 customs inspection, the places where non-compliant products were most often reported were large e-commerce marketplaces.
In sales running through direct sellers and dealers, if you do not know which seller a product was delivered to, unauthorised sales cannot be traced. The legislation also holds the business jointly responsible if a contracted direct seller sells elsewhere.
Regulation
Published in the Official Gazette on 2 May 2013, the regulation governs product approval, the limiting of sales to the business's own sales points, declared domain names and URLs and contracted direct sellers, and the establishment of traceability at every stage from raw material supply to placing on the market. The business must be able to identify the source a product was obtained from and the places it was sold.
Food supplements approved by the Ministry, together with the businesses that produce, process and import them, are published by the Ministry; the list can be queried by company name, approval number or product name. Being able to match the approval number to the product is the first step in checking a product's legal status.
Defines food supplements as concentrated sources of nutrients or other substances with a nutritional or physiological effect, and aims to protect consumers against health risks and misleading information. Member states may require notification of the placing of a product on the market to the competent authority for monitoring purposes.
This section is for information only; official sources prevail for current obligations.
FAQ
The approval number shows that the product has been approved by the Ministry and can be checked against the approved list. But because the number is information printed on the packaging, it can be copied; to show that a box on the market really is the brand's own production, the packaging itself needs to be verified.
Products are scanned as they are delivered to direct sellers and the quantity going to each seller is recorded. When a product turns up in a channel outside the contract, the records show which seller it was delivered to.
No. The invisible signature is worked into the existing packaging design and the packaging is printed on your existing line. The look of the product does not change.
Other industries
PharmaceuticalsThe source of the product and its distribution chain can be verified at every step.
Food and beverageBatch tracking narrows the scope of a recall and makes channel diversion visible.
Cosmetics and personal careCounterfeit packaging and unauthorised online sales erode trust in the brand.Meeting request
The first meeting reviews your product, sales channels and the risks you face, and recommends a suitable method.
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