About SupplementFiles

SupplementFiles is a free, independent resource that takes a public government dataset — the U.S. Food & Drug Administration's records of adverse events reported for dietary supplements — and makes it searchable and readable for ordinary people.

That data has always been public, but it lives in a database built for researchers and developers, not for someone who simply wants to know what's been reported about a supplement they take. We organize it by product, translate the medical terminology into plain language, and present it honestly — so you can see what people have reported to the FDA and decide what it means for you, in conversation with a healthcare professional.

What we do — and what we don't

We present the data. We don't rank products, we don't recommend or warn against them, and we don't sell anything based on what the data shows. We're not a substitute for medical advice, and we don't claim any product is safe or dangerous — we show you what has been reported and let the record speak.

The standards we hold ourselves to

Because trust in health information has to be earned, here is exactly how we handle the data:

  • Counts, not rates. We show the number of reports, never a "death rate" or "risk percentage." Report counts reflect how often something was reported — which is shaped by news coverage, lawsuits, and how many people use a product — not how often it actually happens.
  • Reports are not proof. A report means a health problem was reported alongside a product, not that the product caused it. We frame every page accordingly.
  • We present the record faithfully. We report what each FDA record actually says about each specific product, and we don't blend different products together to make a number look bigger or smaller.
  • We correct mistakes. If we've gotten something wrong, we want to know and we'll fix it — see Contact.

Who we are

SupplementFiles is built and maintained by a small independent team that believes public safety data should actually be usable by the public. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated by the FDA or any government agency. Our source data comes from the FDA's CAERS database via the openFDA program; how we organize and explain it is our own work.

For how the data is collected, updated, and interpreted, see our Methodology page.