Only 5 of 378 health claims by influencers on supplements meet EU rules

Scale of the review

The Verbraucherzentralen examined 804 posts from 27 social media personalities working in fitness, beauty and family content, across TikTok and Instagram. The Hessian consumer organisation announced its findings on Monday, 9 November 2026, and described them as a damning verdict. Almost half of the posts, 378 in total, contained health-related statements, yet only five of those statements matched the European Health Claims Regulation.

Posts analysed804

Posts with health-related statements378

Health claims meeting EU rules5

Posts implying disease prevention or cure160

Posts containing advertising589

Posts analysed

804 posts

Posts with health-related statements

378 posts

Health claims meeting EU rules

5 posts

Posts implying disease prevention or cure

160 posts

Posts containing advertising

589 posts

Data from the article text

Promises the law forbids

About 160 posts, or 20 percent, gave the impression that a food supplement or other food could prevent, treat or cure disease, and such statements are generally prohibited for food. Food supplements count as foods under the law rather than as medicines, so they cannot make healing promises. One influencer wrote that vitamin D protects against cancer and Alzheimer's and prevents diabetes. By contrast, the watchdog pointed to a permitted wording as an example: vitamin C contributes to the normal function of the immune system.

Advertising that is hard to spot

Of the 804 posts, 589 contained advertising, and the consumer organisation considered none of them labelled clearly enough as advertising. Stella Glogowski, who heads the food and nutrition group at Verbraucherzentrale Hessen, said:

“Our investigation shows that many influencers do not comply with applicable law when it comes to advertising content.”

The watchdog said this made it difficult for consumers to separate personal recommendations, supposedly independent information and paid promotion. Children and teenagers are less practised than adults at making that distinction, and poorly recognisable adverts were often combined with largely impermissible health claims and claimed expertise. Daniela Krehl, a nutrition expert at Verbraucherzentrale Bayern, put the legal position plainly:

“Influencers are no longer private individuals when they promote or sell a product. Then they are advertisers and must also comply with applicable food law.”

Tactics behind the posts

The watchdog observed four recurring strategies, often combined, that rely on personal closeness and trust so the advertising resembles the advice of an acquaintance. Krehl said influencers first unsettle their followers, claiming that food is full of pollutants or that a normal diet no longer supplies all nutrients, claims the watchdog considers scientifically untenable in most cases. Influencers also present vague complaints such as tiredness or skin changes as signs of serious illness or nutrient deficiency, offering supplements as the simple remedy. Creators cite scientific studies to appear credible, but exact sources are often missing, so their claims cannot be verified.