Update of dietary supplement label database addressing on coding in Italy

Abstract

Harmonized composition data for foods and dietary supplements are needed for research and for policy decision making. For a correct assessment of dietary intake, the categorization and the classification of food products and dietary supplements are necessary. In recent decades, the marketing of dietary supplements has increased. A food supplements-based database has, as a principal feature, an intrinsic dynamism related to the continuous changes in formulations, which consequently leads to the need for constant monitoring of the market and for regular updates of the database. This study presents an update to the Dietary Supplement Label Database in Italy focused on dietary supplements coding. The updated dataset here, presented for the first time, consists of the codes of 216 dietary supplements currently on the market in Italy that have functional foods as their characterizing ingredients, throughout the two commonly most used description and classification systems: LanguaLTM and FoodEx2-. This update represents a unique tool and guideline for other compilers and users for applying classification coding systems to dietary supplements. Moreover, this updated dataset represents a valuable resource for several applications such as epidemiological investigations, exposure studies, and dietary assessment.