Four leading dietary supplement trade organizations are collectively urging the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to reconsider a proposed reorganization that would place the Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) under the Office of Nutrition Research (ONR), warning that the change could undermine ODS’s distinct congressional mandate, diminish its scientific reach, and create unnecessary bureaucratic barriers to advancing the science for dietary supplements.
In joint comments submitted to NIH, the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA), Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA), Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), and United Natural Products Alliance (UNPA) called for retaining ODS as a stand-alone office within NIH’s Division of Program Coordination, Planning and Strategic Initiatives (DPCPSI), while pursuing stronger collaboration with ONR.
The organizations emphasized that cooperation between the two offices is both desirable and achievable without reducing ODS’s organizational standing or independence. The joint comments also connect the importance of sustained supplement research to the Administration’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) priorities, which recognize the health benefits of select high-quality supplements as an area warranting scientific investigation.
Congress established ODS under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA) to advance scientific understanding of dietary supplements and their contributions to health. Its responsibilities also include serving as a principal advisor to senior federal health officials on dietary supplement issues.
The associations expressed concern that placing ODS within ONR could narrow attention to the full range of scientific questions involving dietary supplements, particularly research involving botanicals, probiotics and other bioactive substances whose effects extend beyond conventional nutrient functions.
They also emphasized the importance of protecting ODS’s specialized scientific infrastructure, funding and staffing to effectively fulfill its statutory mandate.
The associations identified three central concerns with the proposed reorganization:
- Preserving ODS’s congressional mandate. ODS was established to provide dedicated scientific leadership and advice on dietary supplements across the federal government. Adding another organizational layer could complicate those responsibilities and diminish its direct access to NIH leadership.
- Protecting the full breadth of supplement science. Research involving dietary supplements encompasses far more than nutritional deficiencies, including the biological effects of botanical ingredients and other substances, product quality, safety efficacy and interactions with medications.
- Maintaining resources, accountability and scientific independence. The proposed restructuring raises unanswered questions about ODS’s leadership authority, staffing, funding, research priorities and ability to coordinate scientific initiatives across NIH.
Should NIH proceed with the proposed reorganization, the organizations urged the agency to first publish a detailed implementation plan for public comment that establishes clear safeguards for ODS’s statutory mission, leadership authority, scientific priorities, funding, staffing, advisory responsibilities and public-facing resources. They also recommended a formal evaluation of the restructuring’s effects within two years.
The four associations concluded that strengthening collaboration—not diminishing ODS’s standing—offers the most effective path forward.
For more information, visit www.crnusa.org/sites/default/files/Joint%20Comments_Proposed%20Reorganization%20of%20ODS%20Under%20ONR_23Oct2026.pdf.
