Wróbel-Harmas Monika, Krysińska Magdalena, Postupolski Jacek, Wysocki Mirosław J
Department of Social Communication and Marketing.
Department of Organization, Health Economics and Hospital Management.
Przegl Epidemiol. 2014;68(4):613-9.
Based on legal acts and RASFF information, this paper aimed at evaluating available facts on food supplements in comparison to the most popular data accessible via Internet for future and present consumers.
Having analyzed legal acts and RASFF (Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed) database, the authors attempted to verify what kind of information on food supplements may be found by an Internet user, using the first webpage of Google.pl. This search engine was used in this study as it gained the highest popularity among Internet users. It was decided that exclusively search results displayed on the first webpage would be subject to analysis as 91.5% of Internet users limit their search to the first 9-10 results. Internet was searched using the following two terms: 'supplement' and 'supplements' as well as terms suggested by Google. pl. Subsequently, the results were subject to qualitative and quantitative analyses.
On the Internet, the most frequently searched terms were: 'supplements' (243 000 000), 'supplement' (9 290 000), 'supplements shop' (8 200 000). Having analyzed the content of particular websites, information on certain products, given by their manufacturers may be found. Then, data on supplement itself were provided, i.e. what is a supplement and when it should be used. Expert articles (written by physicians, dieticians, pharmacists) on a risk resulting from these products, including therapeutic indications or the presence of unauthorized substances were identified considerably less frequently. No warnings regarding the necessity of purchasing the products in legal and verified places were found.
There is a necessity of systemic education of consumers on reasonable use of food supplements. It is also advisable to consider the organization of alert system whose objective would be to monitor adverse reactions caused by an intake of food supplements or novel food launched into the country. To obtain reliable information on the composition and effects of food supplements, potential consumer should contact physician or dietician. Additionally, complementary information, using different sources with an example being health-related portals, presenting articles written by physicians or pharmacists, may be also searched.
基于法律法规及欧盟食品和饲料快速预警系统（RASFF）信息，本文旨在评估与互联网上最常见数据相比，食品补充剂的现有事实，以供未来和当前消费者参考。
在分析法律法规及RASFF（食品和饲料快速预警系统）数据库后，作者试图通过谷歌波兰语版的首页，验证互联网用户可能找到哪些关于食品补充剂的信息。本研究使用该搜索引擎是因为它在互联网用户中最受欢迎。研究决定仅对首页显示的搜索结果进行分析，因为91.5%的互联网用户将搜索限制在前9 - 10个结果。使用以下两个术语以及谷歌波兰语版建议的术语在互联网上进行搜索：“补充剂”和“补充剂们”。随后，对结果进行定性和定量分析。
在互联网上，搜索频率最高的术语为：“补充剂们”（2.43亿）、“补充剂”（929万）、“补充剂商店”（820万）。在分析特定网站的内容时，可能会找到制造商提供的某些产品信息。然后，会提供关于补充剂本身的数据，即什么是补充剂以及何时应该使用。关于这些产品所带来风险的专家文章（由医生、营养师、药剂师撰写），包括治疗适应症或非法物质的存在，被发现的频率要低得多。未发现关于在合法且经过验证的场所购买产品必要性的警告。
有必要对消费者进行关于合理使用食品补充剂的系统教育。还建议考虑建立一个预警系统，其目标是监测摄入食品补充剂或进入该国的新型食品所引起的不良反应。为了获取关于食品补充剂成分和效果的可靠信息，潜在消费者应联系医生或营养师。此外，也可以通过使用不同来源的补充信息，例如健康相关门户网站上由医生或药剂师撰写的文章来进行搜索。
