Two brands of infant formula – which make up almost 90 percent of the US market – were found to have the highest levels of contamination with the chemical perchlorate by a recent government study, but the industry has dismissed the findings on the basis...
The second article in a series examining the impact of a new Congress on the functional food and supplements industries takes a close look at the new FDA Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner. According to industry veteran Loren Israelsen, we should expect...
All ginseng entering the US market is now required to be labeled with its country of origin after a US Department of Agriculture final rule kicked in today.
The staggered implementation of America’s controversial GMP rules is underway and due for completion in June, 2010. For the Council for Responsible Nutrition’s VP of regulatory and scientific affairs, Andrew Shao, PhD, the bill may be progressing but...
At Expo West recently, Shane Starling sat down with industry stalwart, Loren Israelsen, to discuss the Obama effect, Senator Richard Durbin of Illinois, the “flyspeck” that is the Dietary Supplements and Health Education Act (DSHEA), GMPs, oh, and the...
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been criticized for not enforcing Good Manufacturing Practises, but according to the FDA’s Brad Williams, boosted funding means FDA inspectors may be about to “saturate the field”. He spoke with Shane Starling...
Consumer activists claim a GAO report on the oversight of dietary supplements confirms that regulatory loopholes plague the industry, while trade bodies say the report makes unrealistic recommendations to improve regulation of the products.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has made significant progress in regulating dietary supplements, but the agency is still lacking basic information to keep the products – and consumes – safe, according to the US Government Accountability Office...
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned the US public against a weight loss dietary supplement called Venom Hyperdrive 3.0 because it contains the banned pharmaceutical ingredient, sibutramine.
A new reference material for assessing the amounts of vitamins, carotenoids, and trace elements in dietary supplements has been developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
The American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) has published a heavy metals white paper it says will assist industry to comply with current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP).
The focus of FDA’s GMP inspections of dietary supplement manufacturing facilities will likely take a short-term focus on the Utah area and Southern California, according to inside sources.
Botanical ingredients supplier BI Nutraceuticals has sent its customers a clarification of current US regulations that prohibit the use of irradiation and ethylene oxide (EtO) as a means to sterilize supplement ingredients.
The use of nanotechnology in dietary supplements is badly understood and largely unregulated, and could be putting consumers at serious risk, claims a new report.
Robinson Pharma Inc (RPI), a dietary supplement contract manufacturer, has said its latest quality audit has confirmed continued cGMP compliant operations.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has intensified its clamp-down on adulterated weight loss supplement products, which have been found to contain undeclared pharmaceutical ingredients.
The general public should not be misled to believe that supplement products are dangerous or illegal by athletes’ uninformed usage of the products, and by irresponsible media coverage, according to a US supplements group.
Zinc supplements are the latest target by testing body ConsumerLab, which found that many of these did not contain significant dosages to help with the common cold.
FDA has issued another draft guidance document on the labeling of dietary supplements to facilitate adverse event reporting, despite earlier calls from industry that the guidance should be withdrawn.
Dietary supplements have again been blamed for athletes not passing anti-doping tests, after six National Football League players were suspended this week.
The domestic supply of infant formula in the United States is safe for consumption, the FDA has said following an investigation into contamination with the industrial chemical melamine.
Ingredient supplier BI Nutraceuticals has expanded its steam sterilization capacity, which the firm says will allow it to sterilize more than 15,000 metric tons of herbal botanical, spice and food ingredients annually.
The US Food and Drug Administration may be publishing a compliance guide that would provide crucial help to small dietary supplement manufacturers trying to implement current good manufacturing practices (cGMP) legislation.
Many medium and small dietary supplement companies are still not close to meeting new GMP requirements, despite the looming deadlines. Lorraine Heller speaks to industry members about the major challenges that remain, and the next steps that should be...
Lorraine Heller talks to Danisco’s director of regulatory and scientific affairs in North America – Stuart Craig – who predicts an environment of increased regulation for the nutraceuticals and functional food markets.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has confirmed that GMP inspection reports are not, in fact, available online, and that the only way to access these is by filing a Freedom of Information request.
DSM has turned in a healthy third quarter, with its nutrition division seemingly unaffected by the financial meltdown and demonstrating “sustained strong profitability”.
The successful implementation of new GMP regulations needs to start with the education of upper management on the requirements and implications of the rules, industry heard yesterday.
Companies are spying opportunities to market soy based products as a replacement to dairy following the melamine milk crisis that hit China and echoed across the globe.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says it is unable to set a safe level of melamine contamination in infant formulas after issuing a wider ruling on the chemical’s presence in food products containing milk.
The dietary supplements industry is calling for a freer flow of information linked to the adverse event reporting system, in order to be better prepared to address failures.
There have been 604 adverse event reports (AERs) – including five deaths – in six months, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which implemented the system last year.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a public warning that infant formula manufactured in China may not be safe because of concerns over melamine contamination.
The Canadian regulator is continuing its campaign against the banned weight-loss herbal Ephedra and the anxiety-reliever Kava, yesterday issuing its latest warning to consumers not to use the substances.
Recent testing on omega-3 supplements that found them to be contaminant-free is a sign that new manufacturing technologies have helped improve product quality, according to trade group Global Organization for EPA and DHA Omega-3s (GOED).
Cognis has received GMP certification for three of its top-selling health ingredients, which will make the certification process one step easier for the firm’s customers.
Sports supplement testing lab HFL has said that it would conduct
banned substance testing free of charge if companies agree to have
results publicized through trade bodies.
In terms of regulation, 2007 has been an exciting year, with the
dietary supplement industry gearing up to implement new legislation
designed to better ensure the safety of its products.
The American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) announced it has
submitted a letter to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to
request that the agency deny a food additive petition that would
allow the use of ionizing irradiation...
A non-profit supplement testing program has issued a report
revealing banned substances exist in certain sports-related dietary
supplements, which has generated a buzz in the mainstream media and
concern from industry itself.