"We want to provide data to answer questions in a more systematic and ongoing basis and provide day-to-day monitoring of safety issues associated with the use of dietary supplements," said center director and professor of pharmacy Richard Kingston.
The center aims to serve as a 'clearing house' for data on safety-related issues associated with supplement use, develop a national database of ingredients, and disclose findings on product safety that impact public health.
It will also encourage dialogue between manufacturers, health care professions, regulators and the general public about the pertinent issues related to supplement use.
"I believe that this center will serve important needs of the public and of health professionals for reliable information about the safety of dietary supplements, so that individuals can use them, and health professionals can recommend them, with confidence," said Marilyn Speedie, dean of the College of Pharmacy.
The center, which is an academic unit of the University of Minnesota, will solicit funding through government grants, donations and service contracts from the supplements industry and non-governmental organizations.
The setting up of the center has attracted the praise of industry body the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), which said it believes the move "will help rebuild consumer confidence in the safety of supplement products".
Dietary supplements are regulated by the FDA under the 1994 Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA). DSHEA requires that pre-market safety notification is made for any NDI not marketed in the US before 15 October 1994, but new dietary supplements per se do not have to be approved before they are brought to market.
There are no mandatory requirements for manufacturers, marketers and distributors to report adverse affects associated with use of their dietary supplements, although they are encouraged to do so by the FDA. According to Kingston, the current situation means that the public is "starved of information about dietary supplements and their safety".
But John Hathcock, VP for scientific and international affairs at the CRN, told NutraIngredients-USA.com this week that he believes DSHEA will be sufficient in ensuring the safety and quality of supplements once it is properly enforced.
Along with other associations, the council is currently lobbying the FDA over enforcement issues, such as tightening up the NDI notification process and the introduction of industry-wide good manufacturing practice guidelines.
There are several commercial enterprises that already offer third party safety testing of supplement products, such as NSF International, Industrial Laboratories and ConsumerLab.com.
Last month the CRN called on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the business practices of ConsumerLab.com, claiming that it "intimidates manufacturers to pay for its services". The allegation was strongly denied by the company.