In another example of what can happen when the FDA steps through the doors, dietary supplement manufacturer Country Doctor Herbals has received a warning letter from the Food and Drug Administration that is remarkable in its comprehensiveness.
The NY AG affair has “tenderized” the dietary supplements industry in ways that other issues have not, and made it more vulnerable to other legal and regulatory attacks, said Steve Mister, president and CEO of the Council for Responsible Nutrition.
The Natural Algae Astaxanthin Association (NAXA) is aiming to rekindle its momentum with the naming of a new president. Longtime industry insider Scott Steinford, who is also president of the recently formed CoQ10 Association, has taken the job, effective...
Securing supply chains in the face of wildcrafting uncertainty presents no new challenges, experts in the field have said. The fable of the ant and the grasshopper applies: plan ahead, and you’ll come out ahead.
The AOAC International has endorsed the ABC-AHP-NCNPR Botanical Adulterants Program, following a unanimous vote by the AOAC Board of Directors in April.
In the wake of the New York Attorney General affair, one question that has been raised is whether barriers to entry in the US market are too low, and give bad actors too much room to maneuver. But an expert on the supplement trade in Europe says barriers...
The American Botanical Council has released an in-depth look at the history and implications of the New York Attorney General affair on the organization’s website. The 9,500-word article, containing 71 references, is the most detailed look at the situation...
Europe, and especially Germany, has historically been a hotbed of herbal lore, science and product development. The American Botanical Council recently tapped into this knowledge in a more fundamental way by adding Joerg Gruenwald, PhD, to its advisory...
The question of the presence of gluten in probiotics made a splash recently with the release of a study that found some trace of the protein in a number of top-selling brands. It’s a question of process, not an issue with ‘contamination’ per se, said...
According to one prominent executive, for the probiotics industry, the fallout from the NYAG affair should be fairly straightforward: Make sure you know how to do what you’re supposed to do in the first place. Identify and count, it’s as simple as that.
The Attorneys General for New York and Indiana have urged the US Food and Drug Administration to immediately enhance its oversight of dietary supplements by reforming current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMPs).
Blackmores, the leading supplement brand in Australia, has taken the unusual step of sending a company representative on a two week-long trip to verify the sustainability practices of Aker BioMarine, the world’s largest harvester of krill used to supply...
Leading Halal supplement brand NoorVitamins is aiming to be a serious part of the wider dietary supplements industry, with a focus on quality and transparency driving their value proposition, the company’s President and CEO tells NutraIngredients-USA.
Should the dietary supplements industry look at the actions of New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman as a wake-up call? There are many valid reasons to brush off his actions as mere grandstanding, but if for nothing other than political purposes...
The fact that an upcoming workshop on botanical identification methods has sold out quickly demonstrates the industry is increasingly getting serious about improving its performance on GMP compliance, one of the presenters has said.
An executive with one of the companies promoting cannabidiol for dietary supplements believes that FDA’s recent determination that the compound is not a legal dietary ingredient is premature and will be overturned.
A recent study that found traces of gluten in probiotic supplements has provoked a measured response from the International Probiotic Association. IPA executive director George Paraskevakos noted that only one product in the study that made a gluten-free...
Supplement manufacturer Nature’s Way has responded proactively to prodding from New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman by instituting a new, more rigorous plant-to-powder supply chain management structure. The first step was a meeting this week among...
The firms that manufacture healthy food and supplement products do much more than just make products – they are integral partners in product development, regulatory compliance and much more…
Third-party labs that keep their testing information proprietary to gain a competitive advantage may actually be harming their business, say leading experts calling for more transparency in the analytical sector.
An HBO Real Sports segment about dietary supplement use in the US military implied that Sen. Orrin Hatch was complicit in the deaths of several US soldiers who collapsed with the banned ingredient DMAA in their systems.
Those members of Congress friendly to the dietary supplements industry and their staffs don’t seem overly concerned about the brouhaha stirred up by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. In a recent briefing of members of the Dietary Supplements...
A custom DNA microarray may provide a ‘quick, more accurate, and inexpensive’ method for identifying microbials and probiotics in dietary supplements, say the FDA researchers who developed the technique.
A recently filed citizen's petition asking FDA to extend GMP requirements to ingredient manufacturers met with a cautious but generally positive reception among industry stakeholders. Having ingredient suppliers stand outside this aspect of the law...
The Organic & Natural Health Association has filed a citizen petition with the US Food and Drug Administration to extend the FDA’s current cGMPs (code 21 CFR Part 111) to raw material manufacturers.
The supply end of the dietary supplement sector has come under extraordinary pressures of late. While the NYAG affair has called the integrity of the supply chain into question, demand continues to increase for certain ingredients such as Ayurvedic herbs...
Sports nutrition brands, egged on by risk-taking consumers and buoyed by low protein prices, will be the problem children of the dietary supplement industry for the foreseeable future, said an executive with one promiment contract manufacturer.
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has agreed to enter into a “dialogue” with the Natural Products Association over his assault on herbal dietary supplements, the organization confirmed in a joint statement today.
By Steve Mister, President & CEO, Council for Responsible Nutrition
We all make mistakes, but how we deal with them and learn from adversity, that’s the measure of a better person. At least, that’s what my grandfather used to say. But these days, it seems that the New York Attorney General (NYAG), faced with the growing...
Fourteen companies have received warning letters from the FDA regarding products containing DMBA (1,3-Dimethylbutylamine), which the Agency states is not a legal dietary ingredient and products containing it are considered to be adulterated.
The Food and Drug Administration announced Wednesday that it has banned the use of the stimulant BMPEA in dietary supplements and foods. The agency also sent five warning letters to companies that have used the variant of amphetamine in weight loss supplements. ...
Special Edition: View from the aisles: The retailers' perspective
The actions of the New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman have yet to filter down in a big way to the kind of questions retailers are getting from their customers on supplements. But business executives contacted by NutraIngredients-USA said that...
Another competitor has arrived in the specialized sphere of insurance for dietary supplement companies in the United States with a new program offered by Beazley Group, a worldwide insurance provider with headquarters in the United Kingdom.
In this new era when the quality of dietary supplements has been called onto the carpet in the mainstream media, a San Diego-based testing firm believes it has a solution. The Banned Substances Control Group now offers an expanded testing suite that...
Steve Mister’s 10 year anniversary as president and CEO of the CRN
The two most positive things to happen to the dietary supplements industry over the last ten years have been GMPs and AERs, says Steve Mister, CEO of the Council for Responsible Nutrition. And what is the most significant negative thing? The NY AG’s action.
Bioavailability enhancements continue to be one of the most active development tangents in the dietary supplement ingredient industry. But even as these approaches gain market traction, basic information about the toxicological profiles of many of these...
Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals, a controversial Georgia-based dietary supplement finished products and contract manufacturer, has announced plans to acquire a major Mexican dietary supplement and OTC drug manufacturer, the company announced this week. Hi-Tech...
Organic & Natural Health Association became the first trade association to meet with NY AG’s office this week, and is calling for FDA’s current GMPs (code 21 CFR Part 111) to be applied to raw material manufacturers.
Critics of the dietary supplement industry who were invited to speak at the scientific conference held this week at the University of Mississippi were pulling no punches. Olivier Rabin, PhD, of the World Anti Doping Agency, renewed a call for more stringent...
The constituents of herbal dietary supplements continues to be a point of confusion and contention among those viewing the industry from the outside and was identified as a key point of industry vulnerability during a session of a recent science conference...
Supplement critics who use this week’s FDA’s consumer warning against muscle products adulterated with anabolic steroids to call for more regulation do not understand the problem, says CRN.
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.
