This study aims to conduct a comparative analysis of the legislation in some countries regarding the composition and safety of dietary supplements, to alert the community for any potential risks of such products, as well as to offer some measures for their safe use. Harmonized requirements exist only for vitamins and minerals in dietary supplements. Any other substances that constitute the supplements lack regulation. Depending on the type of the substance and the dosage, a product may be defined as a pharmaceutical in one country while being labeled as a dietary supplement in another. On such grounds some traders, aiming to bypass the complicated registration norms, purposely label some products as dietary supplements instead of pharmaceuticals. To guarantee the safety of available dietary supplements, it is necessary for production standards to be established in Bulgaria as well as to incorporate a registration of the products into the Bulgarian Drug Agency. Coordination is necessary between the authorities, users and medical professionals to report any observed side effects resulting from the use of dietary supplements.
