GOED/Neptune: Krill monograph will help firms detect genuine article

30-Jun-2011 - Another leading supplier has weighed into the debate over unscrupulous firms peddling ‘krill oil’ that contains “next to no phospholipids” but says the development of a monograph and better testing protocols might go some way to tackling the problem.

Fake krill undermines whole market, warns Aker Biomarine

29-Jun-2011 - Unscrupulous firms peddling ‘krill oil’ that contains “next to no phospholipids” risk denting confidence in the efficacy of krill and the broader omega-3 market, a leading supplier has warned.

News in brief

ODS requests proposals for analytical methods validation

29-Jun-2011 - The Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is requesting proposals for "Analytical Methods Development, Optimization, and Validation: Dietary Supplement Constituents".

NBTY: FDA probe ‘embarrassing’, but we’ve addressed issues

21-Jun-2011 - Supplements giant NBTY has admitted that being the subject of a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warning letter this spring was “embarrassing”, but insists it has since addressed all of the outstanding issues raised by the regulator.

FDA data supports bitter orange safety

15-Jun-2011 - High doses of bitter orange (Citrus aurantium) are not toxic to mothers or their babies, according to a new toxicology study with rats from FDA that adds to the ingredient’s safety profile.

Comment

FDA's enforcement deserves loud applause

13-Jun-2011 - A flurry of seizures, criminal charges, and warning letters shows that FDA is increasing it enforcement of dietary supplement regulations. Good for FDA and good for industry!

Industry applauds FDA-Dept of Justice for strong action on New Jersey GMP violators

06-Jun-2011 - Dietary supplement trade associations have applauded the 'strong action' of the FDA and the Department of Justice for finding New Jersey-based dietary supplement companies guilty of criminal contempt of court relating to GMP violations.

Easy as ABC: Botanicals body launches fightback vs economic adulteration

16-May-2011 - A new series of white papers will help the dietary supplements trade wise up to the tricks used by unscrupulous suppliers to adulterate herbals and botanicals, American Botanical Council (ABC) founder Mark Blumenthal tells Elaine Watson.

Chondroitin remains one of ‘most adulterated supplements in the market’

19-Apr-2011 - Chondroitin remains one of the most adulterated dietary supplements on the shelf despite attempts by responsible companies to tackle the problem, according to a leading analytical testing firm.

Prop 65 is turning into legalized blackmail, warn experts as notices pile up

14-Apr-2011 - A Californian statute with the laudable aim of protecting consumers from potential carcinogens has in practice exposed even the most responsible players in the dietary supplements sector to the constant threat of ‘legalized blackmail’, legal experts have warned.

USDA analysis questions green tea supplements as alternatives to tea leaves

12-Apr-2011 - The chemical composition of commercially available green tea-based dietary supplements is not the same as green tea beverages, and some contain non-tea ingredients like fenugreek, says a new analysis from the USDA.

News in brief

AHPA offers Microscopic Identification of Popular Botanical Materials course

29-Mar-2011 - The American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) will host a two-day training program for microscopic identification of popular botanical materials.

Supplement maker tells customers it's ‘business as usual’ despite GMP warning letter

22-Mar-2011 - Connecticut-based dietary supplements manufacturer Vital Nutrients has written an open letter to its customers to assure them that the recent FDA warning letter it received over GMP issues were “predominantly of an administrative nature” and not a reflection on quality.

China tightens raw materials laws for supplements makers

21-Mar-2011 - Dietary supplement manufacturers operating in China will have to do more to guarantee the quality of their supply chains, after Chinese authorities imposed new quality control regulations last week.

Bruker-Chromadex deal 'exciting opportunity for industry'

16-Mar-2011 - A new program allowing in-house raw material testing without any up-front capital costs, is 'an exciting opportunity for industry', says Chromadex's VP of corporate development.

FDA: Beware of Fraudulent ‘Dietary Supplements’

15-Mar-2011 - The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today issued a statement warning consumers to “beware of fraudulent dietary supplements” as its labelling, GMP and AER crackdown continues.

Batch testing among litany of GMP failures for Connecticut firm

14-Mar-2011 - The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning letter to a Connecticut-based manufacturer of vitamins, minerals and herbal extracts for a host of GMP breaches that include failure to test final batches.

AHPA publishes report questioning kava-liver toxicity links

09-Mar-2011 - A veteran kava researcher says liver toxicity cases that have been reported in recent years may be down to isolated quality control issues, rather than inherent toxicity issues with the herb and its extracts.

Garden of Life recalls Raw Vitamin C

07-Mar-2011 - Floridian dietary supplements manufacturer Garden of Life has issued a voluntary recall for a vitamin C product after detecting the product was contaminated with soy extracts.

Mama mia! FDA busts Abba for GMP and labeling violations

01-Mar-2011 - The FDA has issued a warning letter to Florida-based dietary supplement manufacturer Abba Pharma over manufacturing, packaging and labeling violations.

Synthetic geranium still raising industry red flags

22-Feb-2011 - An unauthorized synthetic form of geranium oil – known as 1.3-dimethylpentylamine – remains on-market in major-label dietary supplements, although a retailer crackdown has some “fringe” supplement manufacturers looking for other stimulants to illegally boost product efficacy.

FDA and Customs cracking down on fake herbal Viagra

21-Feb-2011 - US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are employing “Predictive Risk-based Evaluation” to target economically motivated adulteration of erectile dysfunction and other unauthorized supplements at US borders.

NSF International acquires biotech & pharma lab company

18-Feb-2011 - NSF International’s acquisition of Connecticut-based contract laboratory Pharmalytica Services will allow the company to deliver of a wider range of health science services to the dietary supplements, biotech, pharmaceutical and medical device industries, it claims.

Montana firm warned over GMP transgressions

03-Feb-2011 - Failing to follow manufacturing records, inappropriate batch production records and poor packaging and label control have been cited by the FDA in a recent post GMP inspection warning letter to a Montana manufacturer.