U.S. FDA to clampdown potentially perilous dietary supplements

Council for Responsible Nutrition welcomed the action against companies that have tarnished consumer confidence for all legitimate products.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently announced that it will be strengthening its restrictions on dietary supplements as some the products have been found to contain ingredients not approved by FDA and while others are making false promises.

For the record, two out of three American adults regularly take dietary supplements and according to the FDA, dietary supplements like vitamins, minerals or herbs, have become usual part of the American lifestyle. While four among five older Americans consume dietary supplements, one in three children take supplements that are given to them by parents or, in case of teens, they take them on their own.

Though mostly supplements have been found to be beneficial, sources suggest that the FDA has found many supplement companies are making claims that are not true and are being illegally marketing as new drugs.

Scott Gottlieb, FDA Commissioner, announced the action and in a statement has been reported to say that the FDA issued 12 warning letters and 5 advisory letters to supplement companies that have been following illegal methods and claiming that their drug can cure health conditions like diabetes and cancer as well as treat, prevent and cure Alzheimer's disease. FDA found that while one company is claiming that the drugs have been proved to be effective against various deadly viruses another claimed that their drug reduces symptoms of cognitive weakening. All such claims are clearly false and misleading.

The dietary supplements industry has grown to become a $40 billion-dollar business over the 25 years that the FDA has been regulating the market. Gottlieb was reported to say in an online statement that the evolution of the FDA policies and its capacity to manage emerging risks has possibly failed to keep pace with the supplement market.

Steve Mister of the Council for Responsible Nutrition, the group that represents supplement industry, has been reported to welcome the effort that will remove such companies that have been tarnishing consumer confidence for all legitimate products. But the council also said that they will not stand by unjustified regulatory burdens that might be levied on the supplements industry such as requirement for government approval before market launch of products.