NY bill seeks extra labeling on supplements
Bill number A2957, introduced on January 22, “provides that no person shall manufacture, sell or expose for sale any product which shall be termed as a dietary supplement or nutritional supplement without branding or labeling such product with a statement that the product has or has not been tested by the United States food and drug administration”.
The bill continues by stating that the terms dietary supplement and nutritional supplement will be circulated by the commissioner of agriculture.
David Seckman, executive director/CEO of the trade association the Natural Products Association (NPA), told NutraIngredients-USA.com that opposition to the bill would be mounted and that the association would lobby against it coming into law.
“It doesn’t make any sense,” said Seckman. “FDA doesn’t test products.”
Seckman added that the legislators need to understand the financial ramifications, in terms of changing the labels on products.
To read the bill, a new subdivision 2 to S 214-m of the Agriculture and Markets Law, can be accessed by clicking here.
Justification
According to the NYS website, the bill is intended to “allow the consumer to know which products have been tested so that a more informed choice can be made when purchasing these various products”. It is based purely on an analysis of the product’s purity and not its efficacy.
Dietary and nutritional supplements are already required to display a disclaimer stating: "These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease".
It is understood that A2957 would be in addition to the above disclaimer.
