The dietary supplement market in Poland has been growing dynamically for years, but it also remains one of the most regulatory-sensitive segments of the food industry. The latest draft amendment to the Food and Nutrition Safety Act (No. UD247), prepared by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with Chief Sanitary Inspector Dr. Paweł Grzesiowski, could significantly change the way companies operate in this area. This is not just a regulatory adjustment, but an attempt to fundamentally reshape the supervision model – from a dispersed and reactive approach to a digital, centralized, and significantly more enforceable one.
One of the key elements of the proposed changes is the full digitalization of business relations with the State Sanitary Inspectorate. The e-Sanepid and SEPIS systems are intended to become the primary tools for communication and product information management. In practice, this means moving away from paper procedures in favor of electronic notification, maintaining a central register of supplements via the GIS, and integrating data on products and market entities. From the perspective of supervisory authorities, this creates a completely new level of quality – enabling large-scale data analysis, comparing ingredients, health claims, and business activity histories. For businesses, this means greater transparency and reducing the scope for inconsistent or undocumented activities.
A significant change also concerns the dietary supplement notification procedure itself. The draft eliminates the option of reporting the intention to introduce a product to the market and focuses solely on the actual introduction. While seemingly a technical change, in practice it shifts responsibility to the moment the product actually enters the market. This means that businesses will no longer be able to treat notification as a preparatory stage, but rather as confirmation that the product is ready to be marketed, in full compliance with regulations.
The most noticeable change for the industry, however, will be the significant increase in administrative sanctions. The bill envisages an increase in the maximum fine from 30 times the average salary to as much as 100 times. Equally important, the scope of violations that may be subject to sanctions has been expanded. Liability will not be limited solely to product labeling but will also cover its presentation, advertising, and promotion. This makes marketing communications one of the key areas of regulatory risk.
This change is part of a broader trend of tightening control over the messaging surrounding health-related products. Practices involving suggesting therapeutic effects, misusing health claims, or exploiting the authority of specialists can result in direct financial consequences under the new model. This necessitates a comprehensive look at a product's presence on the market—not only through the prism of its ingredients and labeling, but also through the communication method across all sales and promotion channels.
The most profound change brought about by the project, however, is systemic. Digitization and data centralization mean that market surveillance is no longer based solely on physical inspections, but is now being driven by data analysis. Authorities gain the ability to identify recurring patterns of violations, detect inconsistencies between reports and actual offers, and monitor the history of entrepreneurs' activities. In practice, this translates into a shift from a model of incidental inspections to more continuous and analytical oversight.
From the perspective of businesses, these changes have a twofold impact. For companies operating in an orderly and compliant manner, they can mean greater market stability and a reduction in unfair competition. For entities operating on the fringes of regulations, however, they mean a significant increase in risk, both financial and operational. Ensuring full consistency between product documentation, ingredients, labeling, and marketing communications becomes crucial.
Given the planned changes, proper organizational preparation is particularly important. In practice, this means conducting a product portfolio audit, verifying GIS submissions, streamlining new product launch processes, and adapting marketing communications to current and proposed regulations. At the same time, it's essential to prepare for a digital environment where contact with supervisory authorities is entirely via IT systems.
The UD247 project clearly demonstrates that compliance in the dietary supplements industry is no longer merely a formal obligation, but is becoming a key element of business strategy. The coming months will be a transitional period for many companies, during which they can still streamline processes and mitigate risk before the new regulations come into force and are effectively enforced.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice
Legal status as of April 29, 2026.
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