Supplement industry needs broader reforms beyond product listing

If regulators at the Food and Drug Administration are ever going to wrap their arms around the $60 billion dietary supplement industry, they at least need to know what products they're regulating. That's why the legislation introduced today by Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL), the Dietary Supplement Listing Act of 2024, which requires companies to list the supplements they sell in an FDA database for the first time, is a step in the right direction.

But given the problems rampant in the industry, however, Senator Durbin's bill is necessary but not sufficient.

A more useful FDA database wouldn't just include a list of products, it would also include summaries of the evidence for those products' safety and effectiveness. And real, comprehensive reform would close the loophole that lets supplement companies bypass FDA premarket review and determine for themselves that new dietary ingredients are "generally recognized as safe," or GRAS.

Americans who buy supplements should know that the product is safe, contains the advertised ingredients in the specified amounts, and that its labeling and marketing bear no misleading claims of effectiveness. As Congress has learned, even pre-natal supplements' labels can misrepresent key nutrients. We hope Senators of both parties consider these broader reforms once Senator Durbin's bill is enacted.

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Topics

• Supplements
• Government Accountability
• Industry Accountability