The supplement industry is largely unregulated in the US and UK. This directory covers the full picture: where to report a side effect, which independent marks actually mean something on a label, where recalls and safety alerts get published, who polices health claims (and who doesn't), what "novel food" rules can keep an ingredient off shelves entirely, where banned/undeclared ingredients get tracked, and which regulator actually has jurisdiction in your country.
Want to check what's actually in a product? Try our free supplement analyzer to scan any label.
Report a supplement side effect or safety issue to the US regulator
What: Report adverse reactions or safety issues with supplements, food, and medical products to the US Food and Drug Administration.
When to use: If a supplement causes an unexpected reaction or you believe a product is unsafe or mislabelled.
Want to know more? Read our full guide →Report an unsafe supplement or medicine in the UK
What: The UK's official system for reporting suspected side effects of medicines and supplements.
When to use: Any unexpected reaction to a supplement or medicine sold in the UK.
Want to know more? Read our full guide →Check what the science actually says about a supplement ingredient
What: Independent, non-commercial database of supplement research. No ads, no affiliate links. Summarises the actual clinical evidence for hundreds of supplements.
When to use: Before buying any supplement — check what the research actually shows for your specific goal.
Want to know more? Read our full guide →Get reliable NHS guidance on vitamins and supplements
What: NHS guidance on vitamins, minerals and supplements — what they do, recommended doses, and when they're necessary vs unnecessary.
When to use: For reliable, conservative guidance on common supplements from a trusted medical source.
Want to know more? Read our full guide →Australian Product & Medicine Safety Reporting Resources
What: The two official Australian safety-reporting channels — Product Safety Australia (ACCC) for unsafe consumer products, and the TGA for medicines, supplements, vaccines and medical devices — plus the public DAEN database of adverse-event notifications.
When to use: Use this when a consumer product is unsafe or has caused injury, or when a medicine, supplement, vaccine, or medical device has caused an unexpected side effect or failed.
Official pathways:
Product Safety Australia (ACCC) — Report a Product →
TGA — Report a Problem (Adverse Event Reporting) →
DAEN — Database of Adverse Event Notifications →
Section 1 · Third-Party Certification Directory
Nobody pre-approves a supplement before it's sold. These are the independent marks that actually verify what's in the bottle — and how to look one up.
Check for independent verification of label accuracy and contaminant limits
What: Independent verification that a supplement contains what's on the label, in the stated amounts, without harmful contaminant levels, made under well-controlled manufacturing conditions.
When to use: Look for the mark on the bottle, or search the consumer product list before you buy.
Search USP Verified products — quality-supplements.org →Check for a supplement cleared for athletes
What: Screens for roughly 280 substances banned in sport. Recognized by MLB, NHL, NFL and other major leagues as their standard for supplements athletes can safely use.
When to use: If you compete in a drug-tested sport, or coach/train someone who does.
Check for a supplement tested batch-by-batch against the WADA list
What: Tests every single production batch against the WADA prohibited list before it's released — not just periodic sampling.
When to use: When batch-level testing matters more than a one-off product certification, e.g. for elite or professional athletes.
Check for Australia's independent sports-supplement testing mark
What: Australia's independent batch-testing certification for sports supplements, screening for WADA-prohibited substances. HASTA-certified products are also listed in Sport Integrity Australia's Sport Integrity App — verified as a separate, corroborating listing rather than a joint program between the two bodies.
When to use: If you're an Australian athlete choosing a supplement, or want to cross-check a product against the Sport Integrity App.
Read independent lab-testing results before you buy
What: Independent lab testing of supplements, published as detailed reviews. Note: this is a paid subscription service, not a free certification mark like the others in this section.
When to use: If you want a specific product independently lab-tested and reviewed, not just certified against a general standard.
Section 2 · Supplement Recall Directory
Check whether something you bought — or are about to buy — has already been flagged as unsafe, contaminated, or adulterated. This connects directly to the Product Recall Databases section of our Shipping & E-commerce directory, which covers general consumer products — these entries are supplement- and food-specific.
Search official US recalls of foods and dietary supplements
What: The FDA's official, searchable list of food and dietary supplement recalls, outbreaks, and safety alerts.
When to use: Before buying, or if you suspect a product you already own has been recalled.
Search FDA-flagged tainted or mislabeled supplement products
What: Products cited in FDA warning letters, recalls, and public notifications for undeclared drug ingredients or unproven disease claims — commonly weight-loss, sexual-enhancement, and bodybuilding products marketed as supplements.
When to use: Before buying a supplement making dramatic promises in a high-risk category (weight loss, sexual enhancement, muscle building).
Search UK food and supplement recall alerts
What: The FSA's official recalls and alerts, including food supplements sold in the UK.
When to use: Before buying, or to check whether something you own has an active alert.
Search the EU's rapid alert system for food and feed
What: The EU's cross-border rapid alert system, covering unsafe food, feed, and supplement-related notifications across all member states.
When to use: Before buying from an EU-based seller, or to check for an active supplement-related alert.
Search Australian therapeutic goods recalls
What: The TGA's official recalls list for therapeutic goods, including listed medicines and supplements regulated in Australia.
When to use: Before buying, or to check whether a supplement you own has been recalled.
Section 3 · Official Health Claim Database
Which health claims are actually authorised to appear on a label or an ad — and where marketing crosses the line. Run a listing or an ad through our free Supplement Claim & Marketing Red Flags Checklist before you buy.
Check whether an EU health claim is actually authorised
What: The official EU register of authorised (and rejected) nutrition and health claims — only claims listed here can legally be used on products sold in the EU.
When to use: To check whether a specific health claim on a label or ad is actually authorised, or was rejected.
Check whether a health claim is authorised in Great Britain
What: The UK's own post-Brexit register of authorised and rejected nutrition and health claims for Great Britain, retained from EU law and published independently on gov.uk.
When to use: To check whether a health claim on a UK-sold product is actually authorised.
Check which health indications a listed medicine can legally use
What: The legal instrument governing which health indications a "listed medicine" (the category most supplements fall into) can claim in Australia.
When to use: To check whether a claim made on an Australian-sold supplement is on the permitted list.
Understand how health claims are policed in the US
What: There is no US public register of pre-approved supplement health claims. Instead, the FTC polices claims after the fact under its truth-in-advertising authority — this is the FTC's own guidance setting out the substantiation standard it enforces against.
When to use: To understand what level of evidence a US supplement marketer is legally required to have before making a claim.
Section 4 · Novel Foods Directory
Some ingredients need pre-market safety approval before they can legally be sold at all — separate from whether a claim about them is allowed.
Check whether an ingredient needs EU novel food approval
What: The EU's reference catalogue for determining whether an ingredient falls under novel food rules and requires pre-market authorisation before it can be sold.
When to use: If a supplement contains an unfamiliar or newly-popular ingredient and you want to check its legal status in the EU.
Check UK novel foods guidance
What: The FSA's guidance on which ingredients count as "novel" in the UK and require authorisation before sale.
When to use: To check whether a new or unusual ingredient in a UK-sold supplement was legally authorised first.
Search notified new dietary ingredients in the US
What: A searchable database of New Dietary Ingredient notifications submitted to the FDA. Maintained by AHPA, an industry trade association — the FDA does not publish its own public searchable NDI database.
When to use: To check whether a new ingredient in a US supplement was ever formally notified to the FDA.
Check Australia/NZ novel foods standard
What: FSANZ's guidance hub for Standard 1.5.1 of the Food Standards Code, which governs which non-traditional foods and ingredients require safety assessment before sale in Australia and New Zealand.
When to use: To check whether an unfamiliar ingredient in an AU/NZ-sold supplement required pre-market assessment.
Section 5 · Banned Ingredients Directory
Where undeclared, banned, or restricted ingredients get tracked once a supplement is already on shelves. Want to check a specific ingredient list yourself first? Try our free Supplement Ingredients Auditor.
Search FDA-flagged products with undeclared or banned ingredients
What: The same underlying FDA database listed in the Recall Directory above — listed again here because it's also the right stop for a different search intent: checking for undeclared or banned active ingredients, not just recalls.
When to use: If you suspect a supplement contains an undeclared drug ingredient rather than just being defective.
Check the global list of substances banned in sport
What: The global reference list of substances and methods banned in sport, updated annually every January by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
When to use: If you compete in a tested sport and need to check a specific ingredient before taking it.
Check Australia's list of scheduled and restricted substances
What: The legal instrument (the "SUSMP") classifying which substances are banned, restricted, or scheduled in Australia — including ingredients sometimes found in supplements sold overseas.
When to use: To check whether an ingredient is legally restricted or banned in Australia before importing or buying a supplement.
Search Australia's register of legally supplied therapeutic goods
What: The public search tool for the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG) — every therapeutic good, including listed-medicine supplements, legally allowed to be supplied in Australia.
When to use: To check whether a supplement is actually legally registered for sale in Australia.
Check the EU's list of prohibited and restricted supplement substances
What: Annex III lists substances (other than vitamins and minerals) whose use in EU food and supplements is prohibited, restricted, or under official scrutiny.
When to use: To check whether a specific non-vitamin, non-mineral ingredient is banned or restricted in EU-sold supplements.
Section 6 · Official Regulators Directory
Who regulates the supplement market itself — distinct from Section 1 (who certifies a specific product) and Section 5 (what's banned in it).
US supplement regulator
What: The US Food and Drug Administration regulates dietary supplements as a category of food, not drugs — manufacturers don't need FDA approval before selling, but the FDA can act after the fact.
UK food-side supplement regulator
What: Regulates most supplements as food in the UK. Note: UK supplements can fall under either the FSA or the MHRA below, depending on whether the product makes medicinal claims — both are listed, not just one.
UK medicinal-borderline supplement regulator
What: Regulates products that cross into medicinal territory — a supplement making a medicinal claim, or classed as a borderline product, falls under the MHRA rather than the FSA.
EU food safety authority
What: Provides the scientific risk assessments underlying EU rules on supplement ingredients, novel foods, and health claims.
Australian complementary/therapeutic medicines regulator
What: Regulates supplements classed as "listed medicines" in Australia, alongside other complementary and therapeutic medicines.
Australian/NZ food-classified supplement regulator
What: Regulates products classed as food rather than therapeutic goods — including most sports nutrition products. Note: Australian supplements can fall under either the TGA above or FSANZ, depending on classification, the same dual-regulator pattern as the UK.