EU court: dosing tips in supplement ads can be health claims

What happened

The Brussels Court of Appeal asked the EU Court of Justice how to judge adverts that a supplement company placed in journals for health professionals (case C-721/24, Vista-Life Pharma). One vitamin D product was promoted with “stable plasma levels” and “better daily than as a bolus”, and its sublingual use (under the tongue) was presented as better than swallowing. Another product was called “the solution for getting cholesterol levels under control” because it contains plant sterols.

In its judgment of 17 September 2026 the Court said:

• statements about how often or how a supplement is taken can be health claims under Regulation 1924/2006 when they link that practice to a health benefit or to avoiding harm. Purely practical instructions are not;
• a claim about reducing a disease risk, such as cholesterol, needs the mandatory statement that the disease has several risk factors. It does not have to copy the regulation word for word, but it must say this clearly. If the statement is on the pack, a written advert does not have to repeat it.

The Brussels court now has to apply this to the dispute.

What it means for you

• Shop pages and labels are full of lines such as “daily intake is better”, “sublingual for maximum absorption” or “liposomal for better uptake”. When they promise a health advantage, they now clearly fall under the health-claims rules, which allow only authorised wording.
• The ruling is about advertising, not about which schedule works. Germany’s risk assessor BfR advises against very high vitamin D doses taken days or weeks apart and prefers a lower daily dose; we use that as a safety point in our vitamin D pages, not as a health claim.
• In Great Britain the judgment is not binding, but the GB claims rules come from the same regulation, so expect regulators there to read it closely.

Information only, not medical advice. No brand or shop paid for this item.