Food and dietary supplements

Abstract

We all eat and drink, and a lot of us (more than half of the US population for instance) use dietary supplements including vitamin tablets. Food safety and nutrition impact each of us as consumers—and analytical methods and measurements play a key role in helping to ensure the safety of what we eat and guiding us toward making sound dietary choices. Most countries require nutrition labeling for some, if not all, of the packaged foods sold in those countries; in addition, there are often regulations addressing health claims on product labels (e.g., calcium builds strong bones, folate prevents neural tube defects, etc.) [1]. Regardless of label information, most people recognize the importance of fiber in their diets, and accurate and inclusive fiber measurement is described in the paper by McCleary. In some cases, labeling legislation evolves over time as components in foods are recognized to impact health, e.g., the recent requirement in the USA for trans fat information to be provided on labels, analyses for which are described in papers by DelMonte and Rader and Mossoba et al. While labeling requirements have been in existence in some countries for more than a decade, many nutrient analyses are still challenging, as is apparent in the paper by Phillips et al. Methods for analysis of water-soluble vitamins, for example, still often involve microbiological measurements, which are now generally considered outdated (Blake). Development of food-matrix certified reference materials (CRMs) to underpin the accuracy of nutrition measurements is described by Sharpless et al. Along with labeling requirements for both composition/ nutrition and health claims, legislation is in place that specifies limits on additives and contaminants, requires disclosure of the presence of allergens and genetically engineered ingredients, mandates food authenticity/identity or country of origin specification, and prohibits adulteration. Measurements in these areas are described by Camin et al. (food authenticity), Capar et al. (toxic elements), Quilliam et al. (marine toxins), van Egmond et al. (mycotoxins), van Hengel (food allergens), and van Leeuwen et al. (polychlorinated biphenyls, furans, and dioxins). The agriculture and food processing industries are working on a variety of ways to provide us with better products, but often, the safety of foods becomes an issue despite their best efforts. One example of this is generation of carcinogens as a result of cooking, as described in papers by Murkovik and Wenzl et al. Many people believe that dietary supplements will improve their health and that “natural” remedies are both effective and free from the side effects that may occur with other medications. Inaccurate labeling, adulteration, contamination (with pesticides, heavy metals, or toxic botanicals), and drug interactions have all been reported. The actual concentrations of ingredients and the presence of contaminants and adulterants in dietary supplements are typically unknown by consumers, researchers, and even manufacturers. Certain ingredients are banned (e.g., aristolochic acid in The Netherlands as described by Martena et al.), and reliable methods and reference materials are Anal Bioanal Chem (2007) 389:1–2 DOI 10.1007/s00216-007-1473-y