Nutraceuticals may get cheaper, government looks to regulate prices: Report

Nutraceuticals, encompassing vitamins, minerals, omega-3 products, fibre and herbal supplements, have gained popularity for their touted benefits like better health, anti-aging effects, disease prevention, and overall well-being.

The Centre may bring nutraceuticals, which are usually sold without prescriptions, under the price control regime to make them affordable with a panel looking at ways to regulate their prices, The Economic Times has reported.

At present, nutraceuticals come under the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and there is no price regulation.

Senior officials from the ministry of health and family welfare, department of pharmaceuticals (DoP), ministry of food processing industries, FSSAI, the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), director general of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the director general of health services are discussing the issue and would soon come out with measures to regulate the prices of nutraceutical, the report added.

Moneycontrol couldn't independently verify the report.

"Nutraceuticals are generally sold as over the counter (OTC) products. It has been seen that pharma companies are marketing them at high prices," the report quoted an an official as saying.

Also Read | What are nutraceuticals and why is government planning more regulations around them?

"For example, in the case of vitamins, the companies are using active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) for manufacturing a medicine. They then mix it with another ingredient to make it into a nutraceutical and sell it at exorbitant prices," he added.

There are no rules and regulations to regulate the prices of nutraceuticals, but this is going to get changed, another person told ET.

Nutraceuticals, encompassing vitamins, minerals, omega-3 products, fibre and herbal supplements, have gained popularity for their touted health, "anti-aging effects" and disease prevention.