Urgent warning issued over popular vitamin supplements: Brands sold on the high street found to contain up to 12 TIMES the safe limit

Popular supplements sold on Britain’s high streets may contain toxic doses of vitamins and minerals, a shocking study revealed today.

Tests of supplements sold in popular health stores as well as online giants including Amazon found that many contained more than twice the safe upper limit recommended by UK health authorities.

Two even reached up to 12 times the permitted levels.

Exposure to these levels can put users at risk of weakened bones, kidney failure, and nerve damage.

Consumer watchdog Which?, which conducted the research, described the findings as ‘shocking’ and called on the Government ‘desperately’ to introduce ‘better regulation and oversight of the supplements industry’.

Which? Sue Davies, Head of Food Policy, said: ‘It is shocking how easily available supplements containing potentially dangerous doses of popular vitamins and minerals can be found online.

‘Taking more than the recommended dose of these vitamins and minerals has been linked to some really harmful side effects, such as liver damage and weakening of bones.

‘Better regulation and oversight of the supplement industry is sorely needed to ensure that consumers are not put at risk by regularly consuming products containing more than the recommended safe upper levels.’

NHS guidance requires adults to take 10 micrograms of Vitamin D each day, but they can safely tolerate up to 100 mcg; most of these must come from dietary sources.

But according to which one? Superdrug Marketplace, TikTok store and eBay all list Nuke Nutrition Vitamin D3 supplements containing 250 micrograms of Vitamin D. — more than twice the safe upper limit.

When the consumer watchdog contacted Nuke Nutrition to flag the violation, it immediately withdrew the product from sale.

Similarly, Which? claimed to have discovered two different vitamin D supplements on the online international marketplace AliExpress containing 1,250 micrograms, more than 12 times the recommended daily dose.

According to the NHS, taking too much vitamin D can pose a serious risk of hypercalcemia – a build-up of excess calcium in the body, which can weaken bones and damage the kidneys and heart.

Unlike other supplements that are more difficult to overdose on, since excess levels are excreted in the urine, vitamin D is fat-soluble, meaning it remains suspended in the body.

Which? It also found that vitamin D supplements targeted at children, such as Pslalae’s ‘height increase maximizer’, contained far more than the maximum recommended dose of 50mcg set by the NHS on platforms such as Temu.

But vitamin D wasn’t the only supplement. Which one? It was found to exceed the security threshold.

Temu was able to purchase ‘Growth’ and ‘Height Increase Maximizer’ supplements from the Pslalae brand, described as ‘perfect for children, teenagers and adults’. However, these vitamins contained 2,500 IU (62.5μg) of vitamin D3.

Amazon’s most popular zinc supplement was from the brand WeightWorld and contained 50 mg — twice the safe upper level

Etsy, TikTok Shop and eBay were found to be selling vitamin A supplements manufactured by Mother Nature Supplements, containing up to 7,500 micrograms of the vitamin; This is five times the safe limit of 1500mcg set by the NHS. Which one? in question.

However, all of these sites had the following warning: ‘For pregnant/breastfeeding women: consultation required before use’.

Meanwhile, a vitamin B6 supplement sold at Holland & Barrett was found to contain ten times the recommended daily safe limit of 10 micrograms.

According to the NHS, a dose of this size taken over time may increase the risk of developing permanent peripheral neuropathy (damage to the nervous system that can cause muscle weakness in extremities such as the hands and feet, numbness and damage to coordination and balance).

Holland & Barrett withdrew the product from sale after being warned about high levels of which vitamin. in question.

But the consumer watchdog also found that Amazon’s most popular zinc supplement, branded WeightWorld, contains twice the safe upper limit of 50 mg of the essential mineral.

The brand has added a voluntary warning for supplements above this dose, stating that ‘long-term intake of 50 mg zinc may lead to anaemia’.

But the NHS warns that taking more than 25mg of zinc a day is more likely to lead to copper deficiency, which can lead to fatigue and anaemia.

Vitamin A is crucial for vision, supporting the immune system and maintaining healthy skin. The NHS recommends consuming no more than 1500 µg per day and in 2024 the European Food Safety Authority recommends consuming no more than 3000 µg

What are some supplements that have been researched? The watchdog also said no details were included about how much active ingredient the supplement actually contained, making it nearly impossible for consumers to know how much they were taking.

Such supplements are classed as food under the Dietary Supplements Regulations 2003 and are regulated by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Food Standards Scotland (FSS).

Supplements, like all foods, are subject to a general requirement to be safe.

However, safe upper levels are only specified in voluntary guidelines based on recommendations from the UK Expert Group on Vitamins and Minerals (EVM).

Etsy, Now Foods, Pslalae and WeightWorld did not respond to requests for comment.

However, AliExpress said: ‘As a global marketplace, AliExpress attaches great importance to product safety.

‘The platform has effective prevention and control strategies in place and we noticed that this non-compliance product had already been removed by the relevant monitoring rule earlier this month before we received this investigation.

‘We appreciate your interest in this important issue and we remain committed to creating a safe and secure environment on our platform.’

Meanwhile, Amazon said: ‘We require all products offered in our store to comply with applicable laws and regulations and products marked by Which? Meet current government-mandated regulatory guidance regarding upper levels of vitamins and minerals.

‘However, we recognize that there are ongoing discussions about what the right guidance should be and we look forward to continuing to work with industry experts and government agencies in this area.’

eBay said: ‘eBay is committed to ensuring that products sold on our marketplace comply with our policies and all applicable laws.

‘The limits published by the NHS and the Food Standards Agency’s Vitamins and Minerals Expert Group are recommendations only.

‘We continue to review our policies in line with evolving guidance from health authorities to help ensure eBay remains a safe and secure marketplace.’

Holland & Barrett also said: ‘At Holland & Barrett, we are committed to delivering high-quality, science-backed products that reflect the latest scientific and regulatory guidance.

‘As a responsible retailer, we carry out regular detailed reviews by our scientific and regulatory teams and earlier this year we took the proactive decision to bring our vitamin B6 range into compliance with the EFSA recommendation limit.

‘As a result, the newly formulated products will be available to customers this month. H&B products that do not comply with EFSA guidelines are currently being recalled and this process is expected to be completed by the end of October 2025.

‘Continuous improvement of our portfolio continues to underpin our mission to support the health and wellbeing of our customers and we will continue to adapt our products in line with the most up-to-date scientific and regulatory advice.’