US Senators Dick Durbin and Richard Blumenthal sent a letter yesterday to the Food and Drug Administration asking the agency to take action against products containing the synthetic stimulant ingredient known as BMPEA, products which the pair called both “mislabeled...
If it results in a stronger, more compliant industry, the Food and Drug Administration is supportive of activities such as those undertaken by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, according to a statement from agency official Cara Welch, PhD.
New York Senator Chuck Schumer has called on the FDA to ban any products containing BMPEA, but such a ban would be wasteful, says NPA’s Dr Daniel Fabricant.
The controversy surrounding the low-profile botanical Acacia rigidula and its purported amphetamine-like constituents seems to have caught regulators flat footed and has lead one trade association to ban the sale for its members of formulations featuring...
Mike Archbold, CEO of GNC, has issued an open letter to the industry explaining its position in the wake of industry questions and criticism following the announcement that it had reached an agreement with the NY Attorney General.
By By Douglas F. Gansler, Brian P. Kelly and Leslie L. Meredith
Editor’s note: The recent actions of New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman have changed the enforcement landscape of the dietary supplements industry. This guest article from former Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler and his colleagues explore...
With the NYAG investigation cloud hanging over the industry, longtime safety certifier UL has hit on a fortuitous time to debut its new dietary supplement verification program. The label seal launches today at at the Ingredients Marketplace trade show...
The NY Attorney General’s probe into herbal supplements has prompted an uptick in interest about adverse event reporting (AER) but more needs to be done to ensure companies are fully compliant, expert sources tell NutraIngredients-USA.
Prominent dietary supplement industry critic Dr Pieter Cohen has released a new study that shows that a synthetic stimulant was found in more than half of weight loss and sports performance products tested that listed Acacia rigidula as an ingredient...
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has not backed down in his assault on the herbal dietary supplements industry. In fact, he is turning up the pressure. In today’s special edition, NutraIngredients-USA reviews the major milestones in this...
Albion Human Nutrition, a manufacturer of patented organic mineral amino acid chelates, has recognized one of its raw material suppliers for exceptional service and quality.
The consensus among trade organizations is that New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s latest move in is his assault on the dietary supplement industry is based on the falsehood that supplements are unsafe and inadequately regulated.
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has taken his assault against the dietary supplement industry up another notch with a letter he and 13 other attorneys general have sent to members of Congress asking for an investigation of the herbal supplements...
Single ingredient trade groups are becoming an increasingly common feature of the dietary supplement industry. Whether they burnish the overall image of the sector or serve to further Balkanize the industry’s message is a matter of debate.
The NYAG affair has put the simmering pot of adulteration of herbal ingredients back on the front burner. A session at the upcoming Ingredient Marketplace trade show in Orlando will focus on the scope of the issue, on methods of detection and on new adulteration...
A consensus is forming around the deal that GNC entered into with New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. The deal is being seen as good for GNC’s short term interests but bad for the future of the dietary supplement industry as a whole.
As the middle class continues to grow in China, penetrating this market becomes a priority for US brands. Negotiating that bewildering process may have gotten a little easier with the launch of a web portal whose express purpose is to peddle ‘Made in...
A coalition of NGOs has released a policy recommendation on how companies should move forward on the use of nanotech in foods and supplements. The document recommends corporate transparency and label declarations for the use of this technology.
After a months-long interregnum, George Paraskevakos, the new executive director of the International Probiotics Association, formally takes up the reins pledging that the organization will become more agile and vocal in defending and promoting the ingredients.
Consumers are not turning their backs on herbal supplements in response to the NY AG’s probe, but are shifting to brands they can trust, says Gaia Herbs, with the North Carolina company reporting impressive sales growth year-on-year.
There's another pharmaceutical ingredient to add to the list of APIs showing up in products marketed as dietary supplements. It’s fluoxetine, an antidepressant, and why fly-by-night formulators seem to be using it is something of a mystery.
The analytical community should embrace transparency to then allow manufacturers to share that with consumers to build confidence, says Elan Sudberg, CEO of Alkemist Labs.
The recent NY AG probe has kick-started some industry organizations to say self-policing needs to be better, and transparency needs to come to the fore, says Aaron Secrist from NOW Foods.
Attorneys General from Connecticut, Indiana and Puerto Rico have formed a coalition with NY Attorney General Eric Schneiderman to further investigate the business practices of the herbal supplement industry.
In the face of repeated requests for information and services, a working group of dietary supplement companies that includes FoodState Inc. is the process of formalizing its membership structure to transform into a dues-paying organization.
The dietary supplement industry received a welcome breath of fresh air in a meeting of industry representatives with Rep. Ted Lieu, the newly elected Democrat in California’s 33rd Congressional District. The meeting was arranged by Jarrow Formulas and...
The Natural Products Association (NPA) and UL have announced a new partnership to certify Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) for dietary supplement makers.
Costa Mesa-based Alkemist Labs has expanded its reference material offerings to include phytochemical reference standards from France-based Extrasynthese.
Xymogen, a dietary supplement manufacturer that specializing in the practitioner channel, has announced a growth milestone with $7 million in revenue realized in the month of January. The company said this is the third consecutive January in which it...
A new testing firm has debuted that the founder and CEO says will offer a way to judge ingredients based not just on their chemical profiles but on their actual biological activity.
Updated: NBTY appreciates AG's efforts & will comply. "We are confident that our products meet our label claims"
NY AG Eric Schneiderman has extended his investigation into herbal supplements by sending letters to four leading manufacturers demanding detailed ingredient and quality control information on every herbal supplement they sell in his state.
As the issue of mandatory GMO labeling looms ever larger on the radar of the dietary supplements industry, so too looms the question of supply of non GMO ingredients. The main active ingredients in supplements are for the most part of little concern,...
The NY Attorney General's actions are forcing companies to think more deeply about their ingredient testing, which should lead to a faster adoption of effective testing protocols for insuring the purity of chondroitin ingredients, said the CEO of...
Twinlab Consolidated Holdings has acquired the book of business of contract manufacturer Nutricap Labs in a deal that will solidify the plan to maintain the company’s in-house manufacturing capacity, Twinlab CEO Tom Tolworthy said.
The New York AG affair has revealed a gulf: While the majority of Americans say they use dietary supplements, few of them understand much about how they’re made, or regulated. This gulf exists among pharmacists and physicians too, a recent survey revealed.
Citing shortcomings in the way the New York Attorney General’s office relied on DNA barcoding in its recent action is all well and good, but having a more proactive method to engage law enforcement authorities and mainstream media figures on issues of...
GNC Holdings reported declining sales in the fourth quarter and for its full 2014 fiscal year. CEO Michael Archbold attributed the declines to changes in pricing, revamping of stores’ product mix and lower manufacturing volume in an effort to match inventory...
The dietary supplement industry might eventually come out ahead in the public relations battle over the fallout caused by the actions of New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. But that shouldn’t paper over the fact that serious questions about the...
Despite the prominent black eye suffered by the dietary supplement industry in the recent New York Attorney General affair, increased demand for testing services is a sign the industry is taking quality seriously and is getting better, according to Alkemist...
An Oregon-based marketer of dietary supplements has been slapped with a permanent injuction for distributing prodcts that the Food and Drug Administration alleged were adulterated and were unapproved new drugs.
The high rate of failure in New Dietary Ingredient notifications has led some companies to seek workarounds. Anecdotal evidence gathered by NutraIngredients-USA shows that companies are increasingly leaning on GRAS status as a way to avoid having to enter...
The New York Attorney General’s results of his herbal supplement investigation are “unbelievable”, says Harvard’s Dr Pieter Cohen. “I think that this does not ring true,” he told NutraIngredients-USA.
The budget request from the White House for the Food and Drug Administration is part of President Obama’s overall budget that will not see the light of day. Nevertheless, the massive document does include priorities that are likely to be addressed in...
The issue of “protein spiking” has led companies in the sports nutrition sphere to start to differentiate their products based on the quality and transparency of their ingredients and to rely less on marketing-driven messages of the products’ muscle-boosting...
The New York state attorney general’s investigation into allegedly substandard herbal dietary supplements was flawed from the start by an inexplicable failure to refer to national standards established for the testing of such products, experts say.
A recent FDA warning letter to a company making products based on whole dandelion parts and other herbs seems to call into question whether organoleptic identification of incoming botanical specimens still passes muster as far as the agency is concerned....
By Michael McGuffin, president, American Herbal Products Association
The herbal products industry can expect several recent trends to continue in 2015, but there are also some significant changes on the horizon. Here are a few things the industry can look for in 2015.
As part of a second phase of its Botanical Adulterants Program, The American Botanical Council has released the first of a series of laboratory guidance documents, this one pertaining to the herb skullcap. First, the program alerted industry as to what...
By Daniel Fabricant, Ph.D., CEO and Executive Director of the Natural Products Association
As with any new year, January is a time for looking ahead and getting in front of obstacles before they arise. Many mistakenly believe that a new year means new, unexpected challenges, but reality the year’s tests and trials – both internal and external...
The recall last last year of a probiotic product found to be contaminated with a fungus should not cast a pall over the entire sector, experts say. Though they are products consisting of cultured microorganisms, probiotic ingredients are no more at risk...
