The zinc lozenge lives in the same drawer as last winter's vitamin C, and both still add to whatever is already in a daily scoop. Zinc is the mineral people reach for after vitamin C, and the one that sits alone on a pharmacy shelf in high milligrams. A child does not need that shelf. They need a number, then a look at the plate, then the copper page if zinc has been taken alone for months.
Neither of us has a teenager yet. Between us there are five children: two of six, two of ten, and one of eleven. The teen milligrams in the table below are from the research, not from a house that has already crossed 12.
The short answer
- EFSA's population figure is 5.5 mg a day at 4 to 6, 7.4 mg at 7 to 10, then 10.7 mg at 11 to 14. Older teens sit higher. Adults depend on how much phytate is in the diet.
- The number on European labels, the NRV, is 10 mg. That is an adult ruler. Pocket Kids carries 5 mg. Do not stack a zinc lozenge on top without adding the milligrams.
- Children's ceilings sit close: 10 mg at 4 to 6, 13 mg at 7 to 10, 25 mg in adults. A standalone zinc plus a multinutrient is how a small child gets there.
- Zinc taken alone for months is a copper question. The sibling article is Zinc and copper: why one of them goes missing.
- Zinc contributes to the normal function of the immune system. That is the authorised sentence. It is not a pharmacy lozenge course.
The EFSA table by age
EFSA's 2014 dietary reference values for zinc are population reference intakes. For adults they move with phytate, because zinc from plants is harder to keep when the meal is high in phytate. For children they used a factorial method and a 10% coefficient of variation.
| Age | Population reference intake (EFSA, 2014) |
|---|---|
| 1 to 3 | 4.3 mg |
| 4 to 6 | 5.5 mg |
| 7 to 10 | 7.4 mg |
| 11 to 14 | 10.7 mg |
| 15 to 17 | 14.2 mg (boys) · 11.9 mg (girls) |
| Adults | 7.5 to 16.3 mg, depending on phytate |
The adult NRV of 10 mg sits in the middle of that last row. It comes from Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011. For a five-year-old, 10 mg on a label is not "a child's dose". It is almost twice 5.5 mg.
The NHS lists meat, shellfish, dairy, bread, cereal products and wheatgerm as usual foods on its zinc page. That is one UK page. EFSA is the table we use.
The ceiling sits closer than people expect
Upper limits for zinc are in the EFSA UL summary: 10 mg at 4 to 6, 13 mg at 7 to 10, 18 mg at 11 to 14, 22 mg at 15 to 17, 25 mg in adults.
Pocket Kids at 5 mg sits on the 4-to-6 population figure and at half the adult NRV. A 10 mg lozenge on top of that 5 mg is 15 mg in a four-year-old whose ceiling is 10 mg, before dinner is counted. That is the pattern. The usual mistake is two products, not one high specialist bottle.
Teens and Adults carry 10 mg, which is 100% of the adult ruler and inside the older-child figures. It is not 25 mg. It is not a zinc course.
If a clinician has named a zinc dose for a reason, that is their conversation. Ours is the wrong pack for a high-dose zinc course. Stay within the dose on the pack. Add every lid.
Phytate, plates, and why adult numbers move
Meat, cheese, pulses, nuts, seeds, wholegrains. Zinc in plants is harder to keep when the meal is high in phytate. That is why EFSA's adult numbers move with the diet, and why a plate of beans is not the same job as a plate of beans plus cheese.
Portugal and Spain eat more pulses than a lot of northern weeks. That is a good plate, and a higher-phytate plate if the cheese and meat are thin. Look at the week. Meat, dairy, pulses, nuts. A household that eats those most days is not waiting on a lozenge for this nutrient. The meat page is here. Iron is the one we left out of the pouch on purpose.
Zinc alone for months is a copper question
Zinc and copper use overlapping machinery in the gut. Zinc is better at getting through it. Over months, not days, copper can be harder to keep. We wrote that as its own page because a zinc-only bottle is a common shop, and copper is often missing from it. A week of lozenges is not the question. A year of them is.
Both minerals are in all three of our formulas, at the same percentage of their reference values: 50% each in Kids (zinc 5 mg, copper at the matching percentage), 100% each in Teens and Adults (zinc 10 mg). That is the whole design decision. It is not clever. Any brand that includes copper at all arrives at roughly the same place.
If zinc has been taken alone for months, that is a GP, and the copper page first. Do not add our pouch as a repair. Copper status is measurable and we are not the ones to interpret it. Add the milligrams on the zinc-only bottle to ours before you decide the pouch is a harmless extra.
What the Register lets us say
A food supplement may only describe a health benefit in the wording on the EU Register of nutrition and health claims. For zinc, when the daily dose supplies a significant amount:
| Authorised wording | In our product |
|---|---|
| Contributes to the normal function of the immune system | Yes, all three formulas |
| Contributes to the maintenance of normal skin | Yes |
| Contributes to the maintenance of normal bones | Yes |
| Contributes to the maintenance of normal hair and nails | Yes |
| Contributes to normal DNA synthesis | Yes |
The word doing the work is "contributes". It does not say zinc is a winter plan. It does not name a skin condition. We will not pair the skin sentence with blemishes, or the hair sentence with a before-and-after.
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Where My Daily Pocket fits
| Formula | Zinc in one daily scoop | Who it suits | Who it does not |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pocket Kids (4–11) | 5 mg | A daily multinutrient sized for a young child | A zinc lozenge on top. A high-dose zinc course. Infants. |
| Pocket Teens (12–17) | 10 mg | Same idea, teen amounts | The same two. |
| Pocket Adults (18+) | 10 mg | Same idea, adult amounts | A zinc-only bottle taken for months. Pregnancy as prenatal care. |
5 mg is 50% of the adult NRV of 10 mg, and about the 4-to-6 population figure. 10 mg is 100% of that ruler. If you want zinc specifically, at a dose aimed at zinc, a standalone product will do that job more directly than we will. Ours is a daily multinutrient. Every amount in it is sized for a normal complement, not for a high-dose course.
We have no iron. If the search was really about iron, we already said so on the iron pages. We also have no calcium, no vitamin A, no vitamin E, no biotin, and no omega-3. Look at the week. Meat, dairy, pulses, nuts. Read the milligrams on every lid, including a lozenge from a grandparent. Keep one daily product that matches the age line. Add the zinc up before you add a second bottle.
FAQ
How much zinc does a child of five need?
EFSA's population figure at 4 to 6 is 5.5 mg a day. Pocket Kids has 5 mg in one scoop. Food still counts. Do not add a 10 mg lozenge on top.
Why is 10 mg on so many labels?
Because 10 mg is the adult NRV. For a young child it is almost twice the population figure, and it is also the 4-to-6 upper limit. Read the milligrams, then the age.
What about copper?
Zinc taken alone for months is a copper question. We put both in the pouch at the same percentage of their reference values. The longer page is Zinc and copper.
What may we say zinc does?
In the authorised wording, among other sentences: it contributes to the normal function of the immune system, it contributes to the maintenance of normal skin, and it contributes to the maintenance of normal bones.
Can I use a zinc-only bottle and the pouch?
Add the milligrams first. Children's ceilings sit close. If a clinician has named a zinc-only product, take both labels in.
Sources
- EFSA, dietary reference values for zinc, 2014
- EFSA UL summary
- EU Register of nutrition and health claims
- Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011
- NHS, zinc
- Zinc and copper: why one of them goes missing
- How much is too much?
- If your child does not eat meat
About the authors
Lina is a co-founder of My Daily Pocket and is certified in nutrition. Stanislava is a co-founder. They write the Knowledge Hub together.
Last reviewed: 14 October 2026.
Food supplements should not replace a varied, balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle. No supplement is a substitute for a varied, balanced diet. Stay within the dose on the pack. This page does not replace a GP. If you are pregnant, on medicines, or a child has a medical condition, speak to a professional.
Our first small release is complete and ordering is paused. Join early access for 10% off the first order from the next release. We will email the code when ordering opens.
Zinc and copper: why one of them goes missing · Pocket Kids
