How to read the values

Three lines. Three different meanings.

Reference

DGE/ÖGE reference value for adults. The comparison uses the product amount plus typical dietary intake, as a median for women and men. The reference value covers the needs of almost all healthy adults; the DGE does not specify an optimal value.

BfR

The German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, or BfR, proposes maximum daily amounts for individual food supplements. Only the product amount is compared. The proposed maximum is deliberately conservative, is not a toxicity threshold and is not legally binding.

EFSA

The European Food Safety Authority, or EFSA, sets an upper limit for long-term total intake for many nutrients. The comparison uses the product amount plus typical dietary intake. For magnesium, the limit applies only to the amount from supplements. Where EU law specifies a binding maximum amount, that amount applies.

Typical intake

Medians from the German National Nutrition Survey II, conducted from 2005 to 2007, excluding food supplements. Population values, not personal requirements. A fully plant-based diet provides virtually no vitamin B12, little EPA and DHA and usually substantially less iodine; no representative survey is available for this in Germany.

Data as of September 2026: DGE/ÖGE reference values (iodine 2025), BfR proposed maximum supplement amounts 2021 to 2025, EFSA Upper Levels version 11 (2025), NVS II 24-hour survey (MRI 2013).