DMAA!
It was an announcement we’d been waiting for, but it was still big news when it happened: The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that, “the information [is] insufficient to defend the use of DMAA as an ingredient in dietary supplements”, a development that fully vindicated this publication’s coverage and stance on the issue over the previous two years.
The announcement was welcomed by key industry stakeholders, including the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), the American Botanical Council (ABC), the United Natural Products Alliance (UNPA), the Natural Products Association (NPA), and the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN).
UNPA’s Loren Israelsen told us: "The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) contemplated occasions where the regulatory status of a dietary ingredient could be in dispute, and as we have seen in the case of DMAA, this process has worked.”
Dr Amy Eichner, special advisor on drugs and supplements for the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), added: "We first addressed the fact that DMAA is a drug and not a dietary ingredient back in 2009, and we are pleased to see that the FDA has formed the same opinion.
“This issue highlights why it is so important for legislators to fix the loop holes in DSHEA, so that it can fulfill its original intent to give consumers the protection they need when choosing to take supplements."
To read our coverage of the FDA’s stance, and the industry reaction, please select the links below:
FDA: 'Information is insufficient to defend the use of DMAA'
UNPA: 'DMAA shows DSHEA process has worked'. AHPA, ABC, CRN, NPA, USADA also respond to FDA stance
