CRN welcomes FDA Commissioner Hamburg; backs education

While noting that Hamburg herself admits to having little previous involvement with the dietary supplements industry, she has indicated she will support treatment outside of the mainstream medical fraternity.

“CRN welcomes the confirmation of Dr. Margaret Hamburg to the post of FDA Commissioner,”​ said the president of Washington DC-based CRN, Steve Mister, in a statement.

“We are encouraged by Dr Hamburg’s career focus on public health. As the healthcare debate continues, we hope that Dr Hamburg will use her powers as Commissioner to bring increased focus to preventative healthcare, rather than the sick-care model that currently dominates the healthcare system in this country.” ​

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Mister highlighted the fact Dr Hamburg, “openly acknowledged during her Senate confirmation hearings that she has not been deeply involved with dietary supplement issues in the past, we look forward to the opportunity to work with Dr Hamburg to educate her on the dietary supplement industry and the appropriate role that dietary supplements play in an overall healthy lifestyle.”​

He added: “CRN further looks forward to working with Dr Hamburg to restore consumer confidence in the Agency. The more than 150 million Americans who use dietary supplements each year need to have confidence not only in the companies that make dietary supplements, but also in the Agency that enforces the regulations and laws by which these products are made.” ​

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Education foundation​

CRN also announced the creation of the CRN Foundation that will house many of the trade group’s educational activities and research projects.

Mister will serve as executive director for the Foundation, and noted its six-fold mission:

• To provide consumers with information and education about the benefits and safety of dietary supplements and functional food as part of a healthy lifestyle that allows consumers to make more informed choices about their usage of these products;

• To conduct research on consumer usage of dietary supplements and other behaviors that contribute to a healthy lifestyle;

• To provide healthcare professionals with information and education to understand the proper uses of dietary supplements in their practices;

• To provide nutrition and healthcare researchers with better understanding of appropriate research models for studying nutrition and dietary supplement usage;

• To promote truthful and non-misleading advertising of dietary supplements to consumers through programs that encourage self-regulation of advertising by industry members; and

• To promote rigorous research that utilizes dietary supplements and nutritional ingredients to assess their benefits and safety.