Frequently Asked Questions
- What is this site?
- SupplementFiles makes the FDA's adverse-event reports for dietary supplements searchable and readable. Search any covered product and see what health problems people have reported to the FDA, with the medical terms translated into plain language.
- Does a report mean the supplement caused harm?
- No. A report means someone experienced a health problem while using a product and reported it — not that the product was tested and found responsible. The FDA does not verify most reports, and many reports involve several products at once, so there's often no way to know which one, if any, was involved.
- Why don't you show percentages or a "risk rate"?
- Because they would mislead. The number of reports reflects reporting activity — driven by attention, lawsuits, and how many people use a product — not your personal odds of anything. Dividing serious outcomes by total reports produces a figure that looks like a risk but isn't one. We show plain counts instead.
- Why are all of a product's reports from one year?
- For some products, reports cluster in a single period because of a recall, a wave of lawsuits, or a batch of reports filed together. Where that's the case, we note it on the page. A cluster is a sign to read the context, not a measure of ongoing risk.
- Why does a basic vitamin or fiber supplement show serious outcomes, even deaths?
- Reports often come from people who are elderly or already ill, and a serious event reported alongside a product doesn't mean the product caused it. This is exactly why we show counts with context rather than rates.
- My company's product is listed. How do I respond or request a correction?
- We present public FDA data as filed, without asserting causation. If you believe something is inaccurate or presented misleadingly, contact us (see Contact) and we'll review it promptly.
- Is this medical advice?
- No. SupplementFiles is an information resource, not a medical provider. Talk to a doctor or pharmacist before making any decision about a supplement.
- How current is the data?
- We refresh from the FDA's quarterly data releases. Each page shows when it was last updated.
- How do I report a problem I had with a supplement?
- Report it directly to the FDA through the Safety Reporting Portal (safetyreporting.hhs.gov) or MedWatch. Reporting is what makes data like this exist.
- Where does the data come from?
- The FDA's CAERS database, published through the openFDA program. See our Methodology page for the full detail.
More questions? See our full methodology or contact us.