Industry representatives have dismissed media reports that fish oil imports from China threaten the health of US consumers while acknowledging the need for some Chinese producers to improve quality.
Following last Friday’s decision by Abbott Laboratories to pull its sibutramine-containing weight loss drug Meridia due to concerns about side effects, questions are being asked about dietary supplement contamination with the substance.
China’s reputation as an ingredient supplier has suffered from a spate of food safety problems – but the food industry should not paint all China-based companies with the same broad brush, says stevia supplier GLG Life Tech.
A coffee product claiming to assist erectile dysfunction has been deemed an unapproved drug by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) due to the presence of hydroxythiohomosildenafil, an analogue of sildenafil, used in the sexual aid Viagra.
The Food and Drug Administration Food Safety Modernization Bill (S. 510) will bolster safety and quality in the US dietary supplements industry, according to leading trade group the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN).
Industry groups say mandatory reporting of non-serious Adverse Event Reports (AERs) will lead to, “an avalanche of trivial information” that may jeopardise public safety and confuse and overwhelm financial markets.
An ongoing Food and Drug Administration investigation into sweetened, dried cranberries could prove key in the legal battle that intensified between cranberry enemies, Ocean Spray and Decas last week.
The American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) says the Consumer Reports article that this week criticized the dietary supplements industry for being under-regulated and named a “dirty dozen” of supplement ingredients to avoid, is guilty of the kind...
The Food and Drug Administration is cracking down on what it describes as an “emerging trend” for dietary supplements to be spiked with prescription drug ingredients.
A dietary supplement trade group has urged the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) not to require adverse event reports from nutritional supplements in its incident reporting system as it will confuse consumers and interfere with existing processes.
The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) is calling on the FDA to step up to the plate and carry out the inspections necessary to ensure GMP rules are followed.
Small to medium enterprises (SMEs – less than 20 staff) were given two years longer to comply with GMPs than the biggest dietary supplements manufacturers, but it is feared many have yet to get their systems and documentation in order and would struggle...
Michael McGuffin, the president of the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA), tells Shane Starling why recently implemented adverse event reporting (AER) is delivering on its promise some three years down the line.
Eggshell ingredient firm ESM Technologies says that recent independent tests on its calcium ingredient have verified that heavy metal levels are well below legal limits, which the firm hopes will boost its uptake as a natural source of calcium.
A new guidance manual targeting the US dietary supplement industry aims to help firms document their manufacturing processes to ensure they meet Food and Drug Administration requirements.
Federal inspections of food manufacturing facilities have declined over time, as have regulatory actions triggered by inspections, a government auditor reported on Wednesday.
Private equity firms came in droves to Expo West looking for post-recession bargains, with dietary supplements firm in their sights. A NutraIngredients-USA.com straw poll in the supplements aisles confirmed acquisition offers were as abundant as natural...
The Major League Players Association has added 21 products to its ‘Dangerous Contaminated Supplements’ list to bring the total number of blacklisted products to 104.
John Gay, the executive director and CEO of the Washington DC-based Natural Product Association (NPA), commends industry for the lobbying effort that has led to Republican Senator John McCain agreeing to alter his highly unpopular Bill.
In this US regulatory round-up, New York-based food and drug attorney, Marc Ullman unpicks the reformed position of Republican Senator John McCain on the regulations governing dietary supplements.
Arizona Republican Senator, John McCain, has indicated he may withdraw support for the Bill he sponsored in February that would have severely amended the way the US dietary supplements industry is regulated.
Texan omega-3 supplier Omega Protein Corporation says its offerings meet international regulatory requirements, including the strict contaminants rules set out in California’s Proposition 65.
Groups representing fish oil suppliers have defended the safety record of the multi-billion dollar omega-3 source in the face of legal action mounted in a San Francisco court.
Food manufacturers aspiring to ethically sound practices should seek ingredient quality assurance, says US Pharmacopeia, the standards-setting authority behind the Food Chemicals Codex (FCC).
Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona has issued a statement criticizing “lobbyists” of falsely attacking the Dietary Supplement Safety Act of 2010 he introduced at the beginning of the month, which seeks to amend DSHEA in several fundamental ways.
A small study published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology has confirmed links between the herbal weight loss supplement Hydroxycut, and liver problems.
National public health association Health Canada has backed a report which recommends closer monitoring of adverse reactions to Herbal Medicinal Products (HMP).
“The time has come for lawmakers to re-evaluate the DSHEA,” is the conclusion of a Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine academic in a recent report published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Industry groups and legal experts have condemned the Dietary Supplement Safety Act of 2010 as an unnecessary threat to existing legislation that is already empowered to ensure dietary supplements in the United States are safe.
Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) is reviewing the status of the weight loss product, Hydroxycut, which has been linked to liver problems.
Several American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) and American Botanical Council (ABC) members have been contacted by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) seeking information about the marketing of herbal products with an emphasis on new dietary...
In a world with a chronic ‘globesity’ problem spreading beyond western shores to places like India and China, products that promise to help individuals manage their weight via calorie control, fat burning, satiety, or some other mechanism, enjoy rampant...
Health Canada is “monitoring the situation” after four of six black cohosh supplement products were found to contain related herbs, but not black cohosh itself.
The Food and Drug Administration’s commitment to greater transparency is bearing fruit in the dietary supplements area, with the availability of GMP 483 reports providing valuable insights into potential GMP pitfalls.
In the fifth and final installment of this DSHEA special, Frank Jaksch, the president and chief executive officer of Californian-based botanicals reference provider, Chromadex, outlines why he thinks current GMP inspection methodologies are unlikely to...
In part two of this DSHEA special, Mark Blumenthal, founder and executive director of the American Botanical Council, outlines why he believes DSHEA is a victim of the “erroneous negative view” that it limits the power of the FDA and can’t control rogue...
Enforced consumption of folic acid introduces adverse health risks to a wider population and flour millers and bakers may be legally liable for health claims resulting from mandatory folic acid fortification, claims one of the leaders of the Australian...
Insufficient inspection numbers, unclear ingredient identity testing and supplier audit requirements to meet Good Manufacturing Processes (GMPs), are some of the problems blighting the recently introduced regulation, says a Californian-based supplier.
CRN’s annual symposium has heard how the industry needs to better fight its corner when faced with the threat of product contamination, but was benefitting from challenging economic times.
The FDA and DEA should exercise greater muscle in cracking down on products containing steroids and other contaminants, according to a Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) response to a Senate sub-committee on the topic.
Senator Arlen Specter put forward the idea of premarket government approval for dietary supplements at a senate hearing yesterday on hidden steroids in body building products.
Supplement industry stalwarts and critics are preparing to trade blows today at a senate committee hearing on hidden steroids in body building products.
Dietary supplements are again the focus of attention in recent articles published in The Wall Street Journal and New York Times – and once more the products are portrayed in a less than flattering light.
The market-leading weight loss supplement Hydroxycut has been reformulated and re-launched in the United States, just months after being recalled for potentially causing liver damage.
The United States Pharmacopeia (USP) is calling for more stringent testing methods and definitions to combat the growing problem of economically motivated adulteration (EMA) of dietary supplements.
