The goal of the The Natural Products Foundation (NPF) is to "promote and enhance the integrity of the dietary supplements industry by focusing on quality assurance, science, and education while supporting and operating within the existing regulatory framework".
In a statement, the NPF explained how since the passage of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) in 1994, if felt that the natural products industry had "struggled to mature and take visible responsibility or show compelling leadership for quality assurance".
In recent years - and particularly since the ban on ephedra by the FDA - there has been an increasing number of conflicting stories about the safety of the supplements industry. These stories have focussed particularly on the potential interaction between prescription and over-the-counter drugs and herbals and supplements, and the existence of bogus suppliers, making unsubstantiated claims for their products.
The NPF has been formed to address the issues they feel are not being dealt with by trade associations - including product safety and efficacy, label accuracy, advertising compliance and education - and to support these groups' efforts to work with regulatory agencies and consumer advocacy groups.
The group's first task is to examine advertising in the industry and work out a way for it to be self-policing, so that publications cease to publish misleading or fraudulent advertisements.
The new organisation was keen to stress that it considers the regulations and guidelines which apply to the dietary supplement industry as the legal and lawful parameters in which the industry must operate and that it will work to bring those who violate these rules into compliance.
At present, the organisation's executive committe includes Jim Roza, the director of external affairs of NOW Foods, Randy Dennin, industry Consultant at Capsugel, Robert Kay, the vice president of science and technology for Natural Alternatives International, and the executive director and CEO and deputy executive director and COO of the NNFA, namely David Seckman and Brent Weickert.