Press Kit: Supplement Adverse Events Reported to the FDA, 2014-2024
Correction, 2026-09-26. This kit previously quoted modeled estimates (78,412 reports, a 40.1% serious rate, a 41.6% rise) as FDA counts. Every figure below is now counted directly from FDA's CAERS data via openFDA. Please do not cite the earlier figures; the study page explains the method.
Dataset summary
- 35,817 CAERS reports, 2014-01-01 through 2024-12-31, naming at least one product with FDA industry code 54 (dietary supplements).
- Serious outcome (death, life-threatening, hospitalization, disability, required intervention): 12,113 reports, 33.8%.
- Source: openFDA food adverse-event API, refreshed by FDA 2026-07-07; all 20 queries published in data.json.
Five quotable findings
- 35,817 adverse-event reports naming a dietary supplement reached FDA's CAERS system from 2014 through 2024.
- 33.8% of them (12,113) record a serious outcome, including 873 that list a death and 8,110 that list a hospitalization.
- Reports peaked in 2016 at 4,568; 2024's 2,809 was 16.9% below 2014, while the serious share rose from 31.8% to 40.9%.
- Choking is the single most-reported reaction (3,448 reports): hard-to-swallow pills and capsules are part of the safety record, not only ingredients.
- The most-named products are everyday ones, vitamin D, multivitamins and fish oil, so report counts track popularity as much as risk.
Context for every quote: CAERS is voluntary, captures only a fraction of adverse events, and does not establish that a product caused the event.
Downloads and embed
Reports per year (CSV) · Outcomes (CSV) · All figures with queries (JSON) · Embeddable chart. CC-BY 4.0 with a link to the study.
Media contact
Vincent, Health Britannica Research
Email: vincent@deepsynthesis.org
Available for: written quotes (24 hour turnaround), data drill-down requests by category or ingredient, podcast or video interview, on-record commentary on CAERS surveillance and DSHEA reform debates. Clinical questions should be directed to a licensed healthcare professional; we do not provide clinical advice.
Response time: typically same-day during ET business hours.
About Health Britannica
Health Britannica is an independent evidence-based supplement reference site at healthbritannica.com. We grade supplements on the strength of clinical evidence, cross-referencing Cochrane systematic reviews, NIH ODS data, and structured marketing-claim audits. We do not run sponsored research or vendor-funded studies. Health Britannica is part of the DeepSynthesis Lattice, a constellation of niche research sites covering health, finance, education, and ecommerce verticals.