NY senator guns for new dietary supplement legislation

Related tags New york Food and drug administration

A New York senator is attempting to push through legislation
requiring new labeling on all dietary supplements sold or offered
for sale in the state, writes Philippa Nuttall.

The bill would require product labels or promotional materials to include FDA's toll-free telephone number and website address to encourage consumers to contact the authorities regarding adverse events. It would also impose civil penalties for violations of this rule.

The bill (A02762) also aims 'to prevent unsustantiated claims for dietary supplements'​ and would demand that anyone selling supplements that make health claims substantiate them with 'competent and reliable scientific evidence'​. The sponsors believe this is necessary to allow New Yorkers to make an informed choice about such products.

"This legislation is misguided in its intent and problematic for AHPA members who do business in New York,"​ said president of the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA​) Michael McGuffin. "AHPA is therefore organising an opposition strategy."

In expressing the need for the bill, its sponsors cite "the absence of adequate federal oversight and regulation"​.

But New York lawyer Marc Ullman disagrees. "Large parts of this bill are redundant as the legislation is already in place through the FDA and FTC,"​ he said. "Requiring manufacturers to put the FDA toll-free number on product labels means the FDA would have the onerous task of answering non-related customer calls."

"Manufacturers would have to make up special labels for NY,"​ added Ullman, "and retailers would have to verify that they can substantiate their products, but the suggested bill doesn't explain how this would work."

The bill, originally introduced in January 2003, was passed through the Assembly for Consumer Affairs and Protection Committee and referred to the Assembly Codes Committee on Wednesday May 19, 2004.

AHPA believes the bill is likely to be passed as its primary sponsor, senator Ortiz, has a history of getting 'pro-consumer' legislation passed, most recently outlawing non-hands free cell phone use when driving.

"We have an adequate legal system,"​ concluded Ullman. "For years there was no enforcement, but recently there has been a flurry of legislation from the FDA. We now need the FDA to continue playing fair and honestly."

Whatever the decision on this bill, it will defintely not signal the end of the story. A second bill is already pending in New York, which would require dietary supplements manufactured or sold in the state of New York to be labeled with the statement "the product has [or has not] been tested by the United States Food and Drug Administration"​.

And with New York being a lead state in the US, we could soon be seeing similar bills elsewhere.

Related topics Regulation

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