A supplement label is the most boring text on the pack. It's also the part the law regulates most closely. We'll go through it using our own pack, because that's the label we know best. You'll find the same points on any supplement.
How can you tell it's a food supplement?
The label says "food supplement". A food supplement is a food, not a medicine. On our pack it comes right after the product description: "Strawberry-flavoured multivitamin chewable tablet. Food supplement." The same spot tells you the dose and the age it's for: "Dose: 1 chewable tablet a day. Recommended for children over 3."
The warnings come next. They're mandatory and worth reading, even though they look the same on every jar: "Do not exceed the recommended daily dose." and "Keep out of the reach of young children."
What does % NRV mean?
NRV is the nutrient reference value. The percentage tells you how much of the reference value one daily dose contains. The reference value is the same for all products in the EU, so you can use it to compare products. It isn't a recommendation tailored to your child's age.
Our vitamin has 5 µg of vitamin D3 (100 % of the reference value) and 3 mg of zinc (30 %).
If your child gets the same nutrient from more than one product, add the doses up. We wrote a separate post about vitamin D.
The percentage also decides what can be said about a product. A product can be called a "source" of a nutrient when the daily dose has at least 15 % of the reference value. "High in" needs at least 30 %. Our vitamin has more than 15 % of the reference value for each of its 12 nutrients.
What's the difference between µg and mg?
A microgram (µg) is a thousandth of a milligram (mg): 1 mg is 1,000 µg. So the size of the number doesn't tell you much. Our vitamin has 1.4 µg of vitamin B12, which is 56 % of the reference value. Vitamin C is 25 mg, but that's only 31 %. Compare percentages, not just numbers.
One abbreviation often confuses. Vitamin A is followed by RE, retinol equivalent (200 µg RE). It's a way to add up the different forms of the same nutrient.
What does the form of a nutrient tell you?
The label tells you the form each nutrient is in. In our vitamin, vitamin D3 is cholecalciferol, B12 is methylcobalamin, folate is calcium L-methylfolate and zinc is zinc citrate. Methylcobalamin and methylfolate are the bioactive forms of vitamin B12 and folate.
The name of the form lets you compare products more precisely than the nutrient name alone.
Why is there xylitol and sucralose in the ingredients?
Ingredients are listed by weight, largest first. The largest ingredient in our vitamin is xylitol. It's a bulking agent that gives the chewable tablet its body. The sweetness comes from sucralose, a sweetener. That's why the pack says "Contains a sweetener." We wrote more about both here.
Xylitol is a polyol, so the pack also says: "Excessive consumption may produce laxative effects." The dose is one chewable tablet a day.
The vitamin is sugar-free, lactose-free, dairy-free, gluten-free, yeast-free and soy-free. It has no colourings. It isn't vegan and doesn't suit a vegetarian diet.
What does an authorised health claim look like?
A food supplement may only carry health claims authorised in the EU. They always concern a single nutrient, not the product. The wording is exact. For vitamin D, for example, this may be said:
"Vitamin D is needed for normal growth and development of bone in children."
The dose is one chewable tablet a day. Food supplements should not be used as a substitute for a varied and balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle.
Why Ayaka?
With Ayaka, your child decorates their own glass jar with stickers. The jar becomes their thing. The idea is that the vitamin becomes a routine your child owns, not something parents have to remind them about. Ayaka has 12 vitamins and minerals. A refill comes through the letterbox once a month.
Where to find everything
The full nutrient table and ingredient list are on the product page. We wrote about the "Made in Finland" mark on the label and the Avainlippu in a separate post.
