Reading a supplement label: NRV explained
Published 28 April 2026 · 4 min read
When examining food supplement packaging in the UK, one of the most prominent technical terms you will encounter in ingredient tables is % NRV. Understanding what this percentage represents helps you evaluate products objectively and make informed daily choices.
1. What does NRV stand for?
NRV stands for Nutrient Reference Value. Under retained UK food labelling law (originating from EU Regulation (EC) No 1169/2011), NRVs are officially established benchmarks for the daily intake of essential vitamins and minerals required by an average healthy adult to prevent nutritional deficiencies.
For instance, the established NRV for Vitamin E is 12mg, for Selenium is 55µg, and for Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) is 1.4mg. When a food supplement provides 100% NRV of these nutrients per daily dose, it supplies exactly 100% of the recognized daily baseline reference amount.
2. Why do some ingredients have no % NRV listed?
You may notice that certain non-vitamin ingredients—such as Coenzyme Q10 (ubiquinol)—have an em-dash (—) or "N/A" listed in the % NRV column. This does not mean the quantity is zero or unspecified. Rather, it simply indicates that regulatory authorities have not established a formal EU/UK statutory NRV benchmark for that specific compound, as it is classified as a food supplement nutrient rather than an essential vitamin or mineral.
In Balmevo CoQ10 200, each capsule clearly lists 200mg of CoQ10 (Ubiquinol form) alongside 100% NRV of Vitamin E, 100% NRV of Selenium, 100% NRV of Vitamin B2, and 27% NRV of Magnesium Citrate.
3. Checking chemical forms and capsule shells
Clear labelling should always specify the exact chemical form of each active ingredient (e.g. Ubiquinol instead of raw CoQ10, D-alpha-tocopherol for Vitamin E, Sodium Selenite for Selenium) as well as the capsule shell composition (e.g. HPMC vegetarian capsule shell). Transparency in ingredient naming ensures you know precisely what is inside each capsule.
4. Food supplements vs medicines
Food supplements are intended to supplement a regular diet and maintain general nutritional intake. They are governed by food safety standards (overseen in the UK by the Food Standards Agency) rather than medicinal regulatory frameworks. They are not medicines and cannot claim to treat, cure, or diagnose medical conditions.