Food supplements and cosmetic products have the following characteristics: high shelf life, high prices, extreme product variety, strong dependence on product-specific claims. As a result, online retail is also a very relevant sales channel for these two product categories. Online shops often operate independently of traditional, bricks-and-mortar retail outlets. The aim of this focus campaign was therefore to specifically sample online sales channels, as these are often not included in traditional sampling.

63 samples were analysed, 20 food supplements and 18 cosmetics were objected to, in some cases several times:

• One food supplement was assessed as unsafe - unsuitable for human consumption
• Two food supplements were objected to as unauthorised novel foods
• 20 food supplements were objected to due to labelling deficiencies
• One cosmetic product was assessed as unsafe - unsuitable for the intended use
• Three cosmetic products were objected to due to unauthorised composition
• A further three cosmetic products were objected to due to lack of notification
• Four cosmetic products contained unauthorised disease-related claims
• Seven cosmetic products were objected to due to the labelling