The GVH helps businesses seeking to comply with the law and protects Hungarian consumers with an information booklet

The Hungarian Competition Authority has encountered the common practice in numerous proceedings that businesses, when marketing and advertising foods and, within this category, particularly dietary supplements, prefer to use claims regarding the nutritional content of products and their possible effects on the human body.

Although these claims are not generally prohibited, their application is strictly regulated, and both domestic and European Union legislation sets out limitations and prohibitions. The GVH has accumulated considerable legal experience in this area over the past decades. At the end of 2024, GymBeam was fined 100 million forints for advertising, among other things, prohibited claims regarding medicinal effects and health. In August of the same year, Manker Beauty undertook significant consumer compensation for similar claims, while in the fall of 2023, href=”https://www.gvh.hu/sajtoszoba/sajokozlemenyek/2023-as-sajokozlemenyek/nem-lesz-konnyebb-a-masnap–megtevesztétek-a-fogyasztokat-a-regenera-ital-masnapossag-elleni-hatasaval-kapskaltsban”>the beverage manufacturer Regenera has been warned due to its unfounded claims regarding hangovers.

Based on its procedural experience and due to the relatively high number of illegal practices, the GVH issued a guide for businesses seeking to comply with the law. The information booklet provides a comprehensive overview of the rules for health, nutritional and medicinal claims in food advertising and other commercial practices, and provides specific examples of both correct and incorrect practices.

The national competition authority highlights in particular from the guidelines in the information booklet that:

• Foods may not be attributed with medicinal properties, which are not permitted under any circumstances, commercial practices relating to certain foods may not attribute to the product properties for the prevention, treatment or cure of human diseases, nor may even suggest
• Any health claim that refers to the rate or extent of weight loss, that refers to recommendations of certain doctors or health professionals or other organisations, or that suggests that not consuming the food may have an impact on health, is prohibited.
• Health claims that do not fall into the above categories may – with certain exceptions – only be made if can be used if they are found on the European Commission’s list as authorized.

The Hungarian Competition Authority recommends that businesses seeking to comply with the law take the following aspects into account when developing their commercial communication regarding their food products and dietary supplements:

• Study the information material published by the GVH and take into account the advice and suggestions contained therein.
• It is worth seeking the professional opinion of organizations familiar with legal regulations when planning the communication.
• It may be worth developing an internal corporate compliance program that ensures knowledge of the regulations and the internal procedures necessary for their compliance.
• It may help to avoiding illegal behavior if companies operate a “personalized” internal monitoring system.

The information booklet compiled by the investigators and experts of the Hungarian Competition Authority is available free of charge.