European food law is largely harmonized. There are uniform regulations for food labeling and the permitted claims are also controlled in the European Union regulation. Food supplements are a special form of food. They are defined as follows:

‚food supplements’ means foodstuffs the purpose of which is to supplement the normal diet and which are concentrated sources of nutrients or other substances with a nutritional or physiological effect, alone or in combination, marketed in dose form, namely forms such as capsules, pastilles, tablets, pills and other similar forms, sachets of powder, ampoules of liquids, drop dispensing bottles, and other similar forms of liquids and powders designed to be taken in measured small unit quantities.

They usually contain vitamins and minerals, as well as other substances and plant substances and there is no good europaen harmonization in this field. There exist various maximum levels of vitamins and minerals in the member states, with regard to the other substances, the member states have different opinions about the substance or the dosage of a substance should be classified as a drug. There are also different registration requirements for the food supplements.
In this complex area, the ICADA association can provide you with competent support, in particular via the German legal situation, and can also help you notifying you food supplements at the federal office of consumer protection and food safety.