Lessons learned from the history of the dietary supplement industry can be applied to the hemp world, and the blitzkrieg-like pace of the industry means we’ll know in short order who’s getting the message and who isn’t. It will also put pressure on regulators...
A new SNAP Vitamin and Mineral Improvement Act was introduced in both the Senate and House this week, reviving the cause after language from a similar act was dropped in the Farm Bill that passed last year.
We spoke with Elan Sudberg, CEO of Alkemist Labs and winner of our NutraChampion award to learn about how he stays up to date with the latest science and technology, what keeps him up at night as CEO, and how the industry has changed since he first started.
More than 60% of probiotic supplements in the US may lack sufficient information on their labels to allow consumers to make informed decisions, according to a new study led by Dr Dan Merenstein from Georgetown University Medical Center.
Pet owners are more likely to support the legalization of marijuana than the overall population, according to a recent Packaged Facts survey. They’re also more likely to agree that both prescription and OTC hemp, CBD, and cannabis products should be legal.
The US Food and Drug Administration issued a warning on Monday advising pregnant women to avoid the use of dietary supplements containing the ingredient vinpocetine. Industry stakeholders wondered if the missive has more to do with ingredient’s regulatory...
Presentations at the recent FDA meeting on CBD outlined the concerns some academics in the field have about the quality and safety of the products that are on the market.
A joint webinar put on by Global Organization of EPA and DHA Omega 3s (GOED) and the United Natural Products Alliance (UNPA) will help companies understand the intentional adulteration provisions of FSMA.
Friday’s public meeting was an illuminating day of presentations, with multiple viewpoints and interests being aired. On the dietary supplements side, there were strong calls for companies to take the front door with the Agency.
Early returns from the FDA meeting on CBD regulation give a glimpse of the complexity of the regulatory questions, which might stretch the timeline for a new legal framework to extent beyond which many in the industry would find acceptable.
Frustration filled the air at the Dietary Supplements Regulatory Summit earlier this month when it became apparent that no progress has been made in the industry’s push for FDA to drop weight requirements on probiotic product labels.
The main purpose of the Botanical Safety Consortium, a public-private effort bringing together stakeholders in the botanical supplements space, is “advancing the science of botanical safety evaluation, [and is] not involved in regulatory decisions or...
A new force is shaping the dietary supplement market, one that operates largely outside of normal industry channels. The growth of the online sales channel, and brands that operate exclusively in that space, is an increasingly powerful force.
A study published recently has found a level of liver toxicity for CBD, putting up a big caveat to the notion within the hemp/CBD world that its products have nothing in the way of safety concerns.
Neptune Wellness Solutions has moved into the CBD field in the United States in a big way with the acquisition of North Carolina hemp products producer SugarLeaf Labs.
Banned Substances Control Group has published its own list of ingredients that show up in dietary supplements but are of dubious regulatory provenance.
Italy’s National Institute of Health reports a further six new hepatitis incidences linked to the consumption of turmeric-based food supplements bringing the total to ten cases.
It’s a global industry and there’s a lot happening. We know it’s not always easy keeping up with everything that’s happening around the world that could impact the US dietary supplements industry. The answer? Our weekly round-up of key news from across...
The trend toward personalization and the concept of health aging are likely to converge in teh future, according to a dietary supplement industry expert.
It was a who’s who of the dietary supplement world in College Park for the FDA public meeting on responsible innovation in dietary supplements. Here are some of the key comments:
In the end, the only thing the dietary supplement industry has to sell is trust. While that trust may be enough for it to weather the stress an intensified trade war may impose, it is no cause for the industry to rest on its laurels.
Despite comments made by then FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb to the contrary, the US Food and Drug Administration does not have a policy of enforcement discretion with respect to products derived from cannabis and its components, including cannabidiol...
Italy’s National Institute of Health has received further notifications of two more hepatitis cases linked to a turmeric-based food supplement distributed by a firm already implicated in two similar incidents earlier this month.
The latest intensification of the US China trade war will compress margins and could constrict supply, experts in the import of dietary ingredients have said.
New benchmarking standards developed by the Supplement Safety and Compliance Initiative (SSCI) are being widely welcomed by dietary supplements stakeholders, with the initiative coming up for discussion this week during a key ANSI meeting.
The 2015 Dietary Guidelines prompted a heated debate over the influence of industry lobby groups and the extent to which environmental factors should impact dietary advice, with some stakeholders insisting that sustainability has nothing to do with nutrition,...
The deadline to submitting comments is now closed, so what updates are Argentina’s National Administration of Drugs, Foods and Medical Devices (ANMAT) considering for dietary supplements?
The industry has lost one of its pathfinders with the passing last week of John Hathcock, PhD, who retired from the Council for Responsible Nutrition in 2012.
FDA’s new Acting Commissioner of Food and Drugs, Norman Sharpless, promised last week that he will pick up where outgoing Commissioner Scott Gottlieb left off in strengthening nutrition policy and regulation to improve the public’s health and implementing...
Omega-3 pharmaceutical firm Amarin has settled two cases with supplement manufacturers it alleged were using its drug studies to market their fish oil supplements.
Fundamental questions of identity and intended use will have to be answered before CBD can take center stage as a legal dietary ingredient. The upcoming meeting with FDA will likely provide a start, but hopes that all issues will be quickly solved seem...
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit backed the ITC’s refusal to not investigate Amarin Pharma’s complaint alleging that certain doses of omega-3s should not be imported as dietary supplements.
What’s the typical profile of an energy drink consumer in the US, and how much are they drinking? Researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health analyzed data from a national health survey to get some answers.
Global ingredient supplier Seppic has received the green light from Canada’s health authority to market its phytoceramide ingredient using several skin health claims.
Nutrition guidelines must ask the right questions and include a degree of complexity to improve their relevance and quality, according to a research team writing in the BMJ.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) sent a letter to the FDA yesterday, asking the agency to take enforcement action against 15 companies selling products as dietary supplements to help smokers quit.
The recent slew of warning letters on DMHA and phenibut signals a new scrutiny on the part of FDA of ingredient status without reference to other issues, says an attorney with a long history in the field.
The uncertain nature of ingredients in some sports supplements and the florid claims on some of these products creates risk for athletes and warfighters, attendees at a recent conference were told.
The nootropic category is again under that microscope as the Federal Trade Commission has announced the settlement of a case over unsupported cognitive support claims that generated a combined $26 million in fines.
By Michael McGuffin, president, American Herbal Products Association
Looking back 25 years, there are several remarkable aspects of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) amendments to the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act), which transformed how dietary supplements are regulated.
Neptune Wellness Solutions has completed a radical refocus of the company with the announcement of its entry into the hemp/CBD market in the United States.
The US Food and Drug Administration issued 11 warning letters yesterday to companies that have non NDI ingredients in their products. Eight of the warning letters concerned DMHA, with the other three concerned phenibut.
The Food and Drug Administration announced a new ‘rapid communication tool,’ called the Dietary Ingredient Advisory List. Trade groups and industry experts applauded the effort, but many opined that this step still has much left to be desired in terms...
The hemp/CBD industry is being threatened by so-called synthetic cannabinoids that are flooding the market, attendees at a recent botanicals conference were told.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)’s approval of additional uses of betaine comes with a caveat as the Agency warns sportspeople taking supplements containing the amino acid may exceed safe levels.
Should the creation of a new herbal medicine category be one of the goals of the upcoming discussions about a new regulatory framework? If it were possible, such a change could clear up many of the ambiguities surrounding the marketing of these products...
While much of the focus around DSHEA was on Capitol Hill and the machinations of government, an important behind-the-scenes contribution came from the short lived Natural Products Quality Assurance Alliance. But what was NPQAA and how did it help?