FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, has announced that the agency is planning “new efforts to strengthen regulation of dietary supplements by modernizing and reforming FDA’s oversight,” with a goal of implementing “one of the most significant modernizations of dietary supplement regulation and oversight in more than 25 years.”
The commissioner’s statement acknowledged the wide use of supplements by Americans and also that “most players in this industry act responsibly” under the regulatory framework that exists under current law. He emphasized though that “bad actors” have been able to “exploit the halo” created by good companies, and so are able to distribute and sell dangerous products that put consumers at risk.
“CHPA (Consumer Healthcare Products Association) welcomes Commissioner Gottlieb’s comprehensive statement regarding FDA’s efforts to modernize its oversight of dietary supplements,” said CHPA in a statement. “Millions of Americans use dietary supplements and with increasing consumer demand for these products, we need to be even more vigilant in protecting consumer health while at the same time preserving access. CHPA and our member companies strongly support FDA’s efforts to identify bad actors selling adulterated or misbranded dietary supplement products. We also look forward to collaborating with FDA on proposals to enhance quality and promote informed decision making as well as to discussing with the agency new policies which would promote innovation in the industry.”
“As we celebrate in 2019 the 25thanniversary of the passage of DSHEA (Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994), AHPA (American Herbal Products Association) shares Commissioner Gottlieb’s vision, as articulated in today’s press release, of finding the right balance between preserving consumers’ access to lawful supplements, while also protecting the public from unsafe and unlawful products and holding accountable companies that are not in compliance with the law,” added AHPA President Michael McGuffin. “AHPA has previously communicated specific suggestions for regulatory improvements to FDA and we look forward to a robust and transparent discussion on how best to serve Americans who include supplement products in their families’ health care choices.”
“We welcome the need to look ahead but FDA cannot ignore today’s challenges in the meantime: their inaction on one of the hottest products, CBDs, is a case in point,” noted Daniel Fabricant, PhD, president and CEO of the Natural Products Association (NPA) in a statement. “We look forward to working with FDA on modernization, but what consumers need is action. We encourage the FDA to use the current tools it has at its disposal to protect consumers from companies selling illegal products masquerading as nutritional supplements.
“The U.S. has the safest nutritional supplements in the world because of collaborative efforts between our industry and federal regulators, and we are confident that collaboration will continue.”
