To examine pollen preparations which are being sold as a health food, one of these pollen tablets and one of the capsules were selected and investigated by microscopy. It was shown that the pollen coat which can act as a potent allergen was not removed and that the tablets contained other impurities. The results suggest that they are not safe as a food and that they may cause systemic allergy to certain persons. On the contrary, the pollens of the capsule preparation did not have the pollen coat and, therefore, have a less risk of causing allergy.