Search results: natural

In a recent NutraIngredients-USA commentary it was argued that dietary supplement companies that build up a suite of research do so carefully, and plan for success​​. With a careful design of the research program, positive results at the bench can naturally translate into successful randomized, placebo controlled trials.

Longtime critic of industry funded research

Marion Nestle, PhD, nutrition professor at New York University and author of the influential book Food Politics​ as well her most recent work Unsavory Truth: How Food Companies Skew the Science of What We Eat, ​ isn’t buying. Nestle responded to NutraIngredients-USA on the subject of the commentary to say that she has reviewed hundreds of company-funded studies and in her view the inherent biases built into that system are next to impossible to overcome.

Indeed, on her blog (also titled Food Politics​​) Nestle has a frequent feature called “Industry funded research of the week.” The feature is used to document instances of bias, which to Nestle’s eye are thick on the ground.

“The overriding issue is that industry-funded research almost invariably comes out with results favorable to the sponsor’s interests. This is so predictable that I can often recognize the funder by the title of the paper,”​ Nestle told NutraIngredients-USA.

Nestle noted that the phenomenon is not by any means restricted to research on food and supplement ingredients. It has been noted in studies on tobacco, chemicals and pharmaceuticals.

“Studies of these industries show that the influence apparently occurs at an unconscious level; investigators did not intend to be influenced and do not recognize that they were influenced. But the evidence for funding effects is overwhelming,”​ she said.

Bias starts with study design

Nestle said a key issue is how the research question is framed. Companies investing in research naturally want to succeed and get some return on their investment. But the best science doesn’t come when the question is framed in such a way that a positive result is overwhelmingly likely, she said.

“I get letters all the time from trade associations asking for proposals for research that will demonstrate the benefits of their products. That is not the same as asking open-ended questions about effects. Companies want data on benefits for marketing purposes. That’s why I view industry-funded studies as about marketing, not science,”​ Nestle said.

Nestle said she has noted that some of the larger funders, such as the larger food companies or industry associations supporting categories of products like walnuts, almonds, strawberries or what have you, churn out research supporting their products of interest. While some might argue this adds to the totality of evidence and thus could be a good thing, Nestle said she doubts the value of these investments when taking the inherent biases into account. This can result in studies that seek to demonstrate things like substituting junk food calories with a serving of something like almonds or strawberries is a good thing to do. Yes, but so what? In Nestle’s view, this kind of bias is all but inevitable in research funded in this way.

“That’s what decades of research on the effects of drug-industry funding says, and the few studies looking at funding effects in nutrition find similar results,” ​she said.

Independent funding mechanism

What Nestle said she’d like to see is a mechanism for funding research into food and supplement ingredients that was divorced from a marketing plan.

“I want to see a firewall between the funder and the scientist. In ​Unsavory Truth, I talk a lot about various attempts over decades to create such firewalls and develop a pool of industry research funds managed by independent third parties. They have never worked well,”​ she said.

Nestle said she believes that only by making contributions to research compulsory, with the resulting fund to be managed by a credible third party, can research of undeniable quality be done. Something like the Beef Checkoff Program but for independent research funding, even if the results of those studies might not immediately support the marketing of the products.

“My idea of an ethically funded study is to ask for investigator-initiated proposals, appoint third party reviewers who decide who gets funded, and stay completely out of the process from then on. I worry when I see disclosure statements that the funder had no role in the study because that statement has been demonstrated to be false so many times. Food companies are funding research because they want specific results. That’s not how science is supposed to work,”​ Nestle said.

Food law used to be so boring that hardly any law schools taught anything about it.  Now it’s a hot topic.  To understand why, take a look at FoodNavigator-USA’s collection of articles, titled Food in the dock: Food & beverage litigation 

• Judge says lawsuit taking issue with added sugar levels in Clif Bar can proceed:  A court has rejected Clif Bar’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit* accusing it of duping consumers by presenting bars that are “loaded with sugar” as wholesome and nutritious – allegations the company describes as “absurd” and “implausible.”.. Read  
• General Mills prevails in false ad lawsuit over sugar content in cereals… after three-year battle:  <General Mills has finally prevailed in a false advertising lawsuit* over sugar levels in its cereals after three years of legal wrangling, with the judge concluding that the plaintiffs “cannot plausibly claim to be misled.”..
• Who is behind THC-infused STONEY PATCH gummies? Mondelēz Canada secures court order to find out: A California court has granted a request from Mondelēz Canada to compel Facebook and Google to release information associated with Instagram and Gmail accounts of a company selling THC-infused gummies under the STONEY PATCH brand… Read
• Tillamook presents deceptive image of milk sourcing strategy, alleges lawsuit; Tillamook ‘adamantly disagrees’:  Tillamook presents a bucolic image of a dairy brand sourcing milk from cows grazing on local small farms, when in fact most of its milk comes from industrial scale factory farms, alleges a lawsuit accusing the firm of deceptive practices… Read
• LaCroix: Natural flavors lawsuit is a ‘classic fishing expedition’:  The legal dispute over the ‘natural’ credentials of LaCroix sparkling beverages is heating up with brand owner National Beverage Corp urging a court in Illinois to enter a protective order shielding it from discovery that it claims would compel it to release trade secrets… Read
• Plant-based ‘meat’ battle heats up in Arkansas as Tofurky challenges ‘unconstitutional’ law: A law (Act 501) coming into force in Arkansas on July 24 puts plant-based brands between a rock and a hard place by restricting the use of ‘meaty’ terms to products derived from slaughtered animals, alleges a new lawsuit filed by Turtle Island Foods (d.b.a. Tofurky)… Read
• PBFA and Upton’s Naturals challenge Mississippi law restricting plant-based and cell-cultured ‘meat’ labeling:  The Plant Based Foods Association (PBFA) and member company Upton’s Naturals have filed a lawsuit in Mississippi challenging a new labeling law that could make using ‘meaty’ terms to describe plant-based and cell-cultured meat subject to criminal penalties… Read
• Fairlife fallout… attorneys weigh in as the lawsuits pile up:  Four class action lawsuits have already been filed against high-protein milk brand fairlife, its founders, and JV partner Coca-Cola over alleged animal abuse at its flagship dairy farm in Indiana, but this could be just the beginning of the company’s legal problems, predict experts… Read

I’m always interested in recommendations for how we are to solve world food problems—population increase, environmental degradation, climate change—in the immediate future.

Here is one approach from a group of highly official agencies from the United Nations in collaboration with the World Bank.

The report’s five areas of recommendation:

1. Reduce growth in demand for food and other agricultural products
2. Increase food production without expanding agricultural land
3. Protect and restore natural ecosystems and limit agricultural land-shifting
4. Increase fish supply
5. Reduce GHG [Greenhouse gas] emissions from agricultural production

The report is 564 pages.  There is a lot in it.  The one question it does not answer: Where is the political will to make any of this happen?  It mentions political will five times, for example, “Success would depend primarily on political will” (page 406).

How to get political will?  That needs to be the subject of another report, apparently.

Joshua Specht.  Red Meat Republic: A Hoof-to-Table History of How Beef Changed America. Princeton University Press, 2019.

This is an enlightening, engrossing, and eminently readable cultural history of the beef industry in the United States, from the replacement of bison (and Native Americans) from the Great Plains to Big Meat to consumer concerns about the effects of beef on health and the environment.  What I so admire about this book is how it never loses sight of the big picture—the critical social and political forces that promoted the beef industry and made beef an icon of American society.

Specht summarizes big-picture aspects in his introduction:

The cattle-beef complex was the product of small debates, struggles, and fights over keeping one’s job, protecting a home, or making a dollar.  Ultimately, these were contests over what our food system should look like and how our society should be organized.  Low prices and sanitary meat at the expense of all else won out.  It was a system predicated on land dispossession, low wages, animal abuse, rancher impoverishment, and environmental degradation.  But it also democratized beef; hungry consumers could eat what they want3ed, and it tasted good.  Railroads, refrigeration, and capital made this system possible, but politics and struggle determined its contours (p.20).

Specht describes how the establishment of cattle ranching—e,g,, winning the West— meant the destruction of bison (and, therefore, Native American livelihoods).  Ranchers had to contend with the displaced and understandably angry Indians, of course, but also winter, drought, barbed wire, and theft.  Specht explains the political maneuvering that brought us to today’s highly consolidated, industrialized beef industry, controlled by just four companies, and producing most beef in CAFOs (controlled animal feeding operations) infamous for mistreatment of animals and environmental pollution.  How did this happen?

The refrigerator car and the managerial revolution explains how a small group of firms could dominate a world in which cattle were slaughtered in one place and eaten a continent or n ocean away, but the meatpackers’ victories over labor, the railroads, and local butchers explain how this state of affairs went from one that horrified people—pale grey meat in stuffy railcars—to one that was accepted as not only natural and inevitable, but laudable.  The key to the meatpackers’ success was that they would align their cause, centralized mass production of meat, with the interests of consumers (p. 178).

The interests of consumers?  Cheap meat.  As long as the present system keeps the price of meat affordable, it will be hard to mobilize public support for reforming the system.

This book is a welcome addition to the library of  books on the meaning of meat in America life, of which my favorites are Orville Schell’s Modern Meat (Random House, 1984) and Betty Fussell’s Raising Steaks: The Life and Times of American Beef (Harcourt, 2008).  Schell’s book predated Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation, but covered much of the same territory.  Fussell’s is a cultural history.  Specht cites neither.  I commend them to his attention.

Earlier this year, the Lancet published two lengthy treatises arguing that the externalized costs of industrial meat production are unsustainable, and that halving current meat consumption must be a priority for improving human health and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.*  It’s too bad these reports came out too late to be included in Specht’s analysis.  I would love to hear his comments on them.

* The two Lancet reports from January 2019 are:

• Willett W, Rockström J, Loken B, Springmann M, Lang T, Vermeulen S, et al. Food in the Anthropocene: the EAT–Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems. Lancet. 2019;393:447–92. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)31788-4.
• Swinburn BA, Kraak VI, Allender S, Atkins VJ, Baker PI, Bogard JR, et al. The Global syndemic of obesity, undernutrition, and climate change: The Lancet Commission report. Lancet. 2019;393:791–846. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736 (18)32822-8.

DairyReporter.com is another one of those industry newsletters I so enjoy reading.  This particular article is a roundup of articles on the infant formula industry.

Special Edition: Infant nutrition

The field of infant nutrition is a constantly evolving one, as new ingredients are constantly being added to provide greater benefits, and products are being developed to more closely approximate breast milk for those unable to breast feed. In this special edition, DairyReporter takes a look at some recent innovation in the infant nutrition space.

• DSM puts early childhood nutrition on display at IFT:  DSM Ingredients of the Netherlands showcased its products for all stages of life at the 2019 IFT show in New Orleans last week. Preconception, pregnancy, nursing, infants, toddlers and kids all fit into its portfolio of food and beverage ingredients… Read
• Chicory root fiber in the infant nutrition industry: Functional ingredient supplier BENEO offers products derived from chicory roots, beet sugar, rice and wheat… Read
• Liquid addition for IBC blending: Matcon has launched its Liquid Addition System to expand the range of the Intermediate Bulk Container (IBC) tumble blender for industries that need to be able to add liquids into a wide range of powder recipe mixes in a contained and efficient manner… Read
• Nestlé files patent on age-tailored infant formulas to curb later-life obesity, disease risk: Nestlé has developed six age-tailored infant formulas to prevent sub-optimal body composition in early-life that aim to reduce obesity, cardiovascular disease and metabolic disorder risk later in life… Read
• Awareness of MFGM growing: More pregnant women are familiar with the milk fat globule membrane (MFGM), a nutritional component naturally occurring in breast milk. It’s now being used as an ingredient in infant formula to “close the gap further between breast milk and formula.”.. Read
• Infant formula in India: FSSAI proposes regulations for products with special medical purposes:  The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has issued a notification on a draft regulation for infant nutrition safety standards, calling for industry stakeholders to submit their comments… Read
• Nestlé seeks to lower minimum protein content in Australia and New Zealand follow-on formula:  Nestlé has applied to Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) to reduce the minimum protein requirement for milk-based follow-on formula in the Australia and New Zealand Food Standards Code… Read
• Dairy Dialog podcast 32: Advanced Lipids, Prinova and Glanbia:  This week’s Dairy Dialog podcast is based around some of the companies attending Vitafoods in Geneva last week… Listen now  
• Moo-ving into udder markets: Bubs to continue goat milk formula innovation amid Fonterra cow milk collaboration:  A supply agreement with Fonterra will see Bubs Australia venture into the cow’s milk infant formula space, though the firm has stressed that it will continue to innovate across its core range of goat’s milk products… Read  
• ESI Nutrition’s infant nutrition powders now approved for export to China:  ESI Nutrition, a division of French dairy cooperative Laïta, has received approval from Chinese authorities (GACG – General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China) allowing it to produce infant formulas in powder for China at its new industrial site, Laiterie Nouvelle de l’Argenon… Read  
• EFSA deem protein isolates safe for extended use in infant formula and supplements:  The European Food and Safety Authority’s (EFSA) Panel on Nutrition, Novel Foods and Food Allergens (NDA) concludes that whey basic protein isolates are safe under new proposed conditions of use… Read

Breastfeeding, anyone?

The industry newsletter, FoodNavigator.com, which I follow for its thorough coverage of this industry, has collected a set of its articles on sweeteners in a “special edition.”

Reminder: We love sweet foods.  Sugars have calories and encourage us to eat more of sweet foods.  Food companies wish they had a reasonable alternative to sugars that tasted as good and didn’t cause health problems.

Good luck with that!  In the meantime…

Special Edition: Sweeteners and sugar reduction

Food and beverage manufacturers have a far wider range of sweetening options than ever before, from coconut sugar and date syrup to allulose, monk fruit and new stevia blends. We explore the latest market developments, formulation challenges, and consumer research.

• Consumer fear of sugar is mounting – but is it deserved and what alternatives will consumers accept?  Using tactics such as “sin taxes” and a new bold-faced call-out for added sugar on the revised Nutrition Facts panel, public health advocates and regulators have targeted sugar as a primary caloric contributor in the ongoing obesity epidemic in the US – and sales data shows that consumers are listening… Read
• FDA guidance could prompt surge of interest in low-cal, tooth-friendly, rare sugar allulose:  FDA draft guidance allowing allulose to be excluded from the total and added sugars declarations on the Nutrition Facts panel could generate a surge of interest in the rare sugar, predict formulators… Read
• SmartSweets to double store count in 2019: ‘We’re making candy cool again,’ says founder:  Low-sugar confectionery startup SmartSweets is primed for solid expansion into mass and grocery this year, a move its founder says should bring Gen Y and Z back to the candy aisle… Read
• Sweeteners in focus: Where next for allulose, stevia, isomaltulose?  Are sugar alcohols losing their luster, will allulose take off, and is stevia still hot? FoodNavigator-USA caught up with Icon Foods, Cargill and Beneo to explore formulation trends as brands come under increasing pressure to reduce sugar and keep labels clean… Read
• Are zero calorie sweeteners fueling, rather than fighting, the obesity epidemic?  Are zero calorie sweeteners fueling, rather than fighting, the obesity epidemic by meddling with our metabolism or negatively altering our gut bacteria, as some critics claims? Or do they remain invaluable – and exhaustively tested – tools in the formulator’s toolbox?.. Read
• KIND challenges snack makers to better disclose sugar & sweeteners in products with an ‘X-ray’ popup:  In response to the public’s growing aversion to sugar, manufacturers across categories have reformulated and launched products made with alternative sweeteners, but increasingly consumers don’t want those either – but they also can’t as easily identify them, suggests a recent survey conducted by KIND… Read
• Amyris bids for 30% slice of stevia market by 2022 with new Reb M sweetener: ‘On a quality basis, it’s a superior product. It simply tastes better’:  Synthetic biology specialist Amyris has embarked on a mission to capture 30% of the global stevia sweeteners market by 2022 with a Reb M sweetener produced from cane sugar by a modified yeast strain, that it claims gives it a clear competitive advantage over rivals on cost and quality… Read
• Russell Stover corrects ‘brand communication problem’, brings sales growth to sugar-free chocolate product:  Russell Stover enjoyed years of market dominance when it first launched its seemingly ‘too-good-to-be-true’ sugar-free chocolate line in the ’80s. But lately, its sugar-free chocolate sales have wavered as it fell out of favor with consumers who perceived the products to be at odds with a growing better-for-you lifestyle… Read
• Lily’s Sweets CEO: ‘It feels like a mainstream trend [reducing sugar] is being boosted by a micro-trend [keto]’:  Consumers often say that if they’re going to indulge, they’d rather eat a small portion of something made with ‘real’ or familiar ingredients (butter, cane sugar, whole milk) than a more ‘processed’ low calorie/sugar/fat alternative… Read
• Finding stevia ‘polarizing’, beverage brand Petal switches up its sweetener ahead of national retail launch this summer:  Sparkling botanical beverage brand Petal has had a busy first year as the company doubled its product line with three new flavors, underwent a reformulation (swapping out stevia and erythritol for organic agave), and is now primed for national distribution in the coming months, shared CEO and founder, Candice Crane… Read
• Changes to Nutrition Facts label to call out ‘added sugar’ could save millions of lives, study suggests:  Impending changes to the Nutrition Facts label that will require products to clearly label the grams and percent Daily Value of added sugar could prevent or postpone nearly 1 million cases of cardiometabolic disease and save billions in healthcare and societal costs over the next 20 years, according to a modeling study published this month in the journal Circulation… Read
• Yeast-based production process for tagatose could unlock low GI sweetener’s commercial potential, say researchers:  A newly-engineered strain of yeast that can efficiently metabolize lactose into tagatose (a low-calorie, low-glycemic sweetener) may be the key to unlocking commercial-scale availability of the sweetener, researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign believe… Read
• Sugar taxes: The global picture:  Sugar taxes continue to hit the headlines, but the introduction of new legislation is never straight-forward. We take a look at 20 countries around the globe where sugar taxes have been in the news… Read
• SweetLeaf Stevia CEO: The sugar substitutes category is flat, but stevia products were up 31% YOY in Q1:  If fat is back with a vengeance and protein remains on trend, sugar is now public enemy number one for many consumers, who want to cut down, but remain suspicious of the ‘natural’ credentials of some alternatives. FoodNavigator-USA caught up with Carol May (CM), CEO at Wisdom Natural Brands, maker of Sweetleaf Stevia, to find out what’s happening in the US sugar substitutes aisle… Read
  

NutraIngredients.com, one of those informative industry newsletters I subscribe to, has a collection of articles on CBD (cannabidiol, the component of hemp and marijuana that does not make you high but may have some health benefits).

Manufacturers are rushing to produce CBD edibles and supplements, despite concerns about their legal status, as you can see here.

• CBD startup’s mission to become ‘the Unilever of the Cannabis industry’: The founders of a British CBD tea startup are on a mission to become ‘the Unilever of the cannabis Industry’ with truly natural and organic innovations to appeal to the ethos of cannabis consumers… Read
• Germany identified as future pacesetter in buoyant European CBD market: The European cannabidol (CBD) market is set to blossom over the next four years, according to a market intelligence firm, who also predict that Germany’s growth will outpace that of other EU countries… Read
• CBD trade group mounts legal action to challenge possible FSA reclassification: A trade association for the UK’s cannabis industry announces its intentions to sue the country’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) over moves to classify cannabidiol (CBD)-containing products as a ‘novel food.’.. Read
• Hemp world takes steps toward legitimacy, but still has need for growth: The hemp and CBD industry seems to be taking a step toward ‘adulthood,’ based on a visit to a recent expo… Read
• Flood of synthetic cannabinoids threatens to undermine CBD market, experts say: The hemp/CBD industry is being threatened by so-called synthetic cannabinoids that are flooding the market, attendees at a recent botanicals conference were told… Read
• CBD regulation: Global clampdown or treading a careful path to acceptance?  The interest in cannabidiol (CBD) use in food supplements, foods, and even as an ingredient in cosmetics has gained much momentum in the past five years, but what is the regulatory situation around the world?.. Read
• ‘Think of yeast as a factory…’ Microbial fermentation can deliver CBD with consistent purity at a lower cost, says Demetrix: While some natural products brands are only interested in CBD from hemp or marijuana plants, the market for cannabinoids produced via microbial fermentation is potentially huge, as the pesticide-free process delivers higher yields and consistent purity at a “substantially lower cost,” claims one company on a mission to lead this emerging field… Read
• Updated EC ruling for CBD classes supplement ingredient as Novel Food: The European Commission (EC) has reclassified cannabidiol (CBD) as a Novel Food in a change that may mean CBD and hemp-derived food supplements cannot be legally sold within Europe… Read
• Indecision reigns over current CBD Novel Food status as industry groups clash with authorities: Evidence presented at the Novel Food Commission meeting this week has triggered a rethink for authorities over the decision to classify Cannabidiol (CBD) as a novel food (NF)… Read
• CBD frustration: Aussie supplement firms thwarted by rules while pharma advances march on: Pharmaceutical firms are making strides in the Australia’s medical cannabis space, but supplement and nutraceutical firms will have to wait a long time before they can do the same, says an industry expert… Read

And from this and other sources

• Will CBD-infused snacks help Mondelēz regain traction in its developed markets?  The multinational snack maker is in the early stages of assessing how CBD could fit into its future product portfolio, according to CEO Dirk Van Put… Read
• Supplements and beyond: CBD industry on cusp of cannabis revolution.  WATCH.
• CBD entering food and drink at an “astounding pace,” report says.
• Supplements and beyond: CBD industry on cusp of cannabis revolution – WATCH: The European Commission’s decision to classify cannabidiol (CBD)-containing products as a ‘novel food,’ continues to irk those in the sector as the nutrition industry gather once more for Vitafoods… Watch now
• Mexico’s cannabis future? Right now it’s a ‘standby situation’, says expert: The future of cannabis in foods and supplements remains unclear for Mexico following the revocation of guidelines without any next-step plan, but a new regulatory instrument should come soon, says the MD of DPE International Consulting… Read
• Could CBD supplementation help curb heroin cravings?  Cannabidiol (CBD) might have a role in helping to break the cycle of heroin addiction, according to research from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York… Read
• FDA’s Cannabis hearing to draw more than 140 speakers.
• ‘The landscape for cannabis in food’  An educational session at this year’s Sweets & Snacks Expo on the interest in cannabis-derived products came with a warning from the organizers that exhibitors were not allowed to sell any such products, which shows how controversial a trend it is. A panel of experts attempted to pick their way through the legal minefield… Read

NutraIngredients-USA.com has posted a set of articles celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA), which effectively deregulated the supplement industry.  The articles that follow are from the perspective of that industry.

Personally, I’m not a fan of DSHEA, and view deregulation of dietary supplements as a mistake for the industry as well as for the public.  Strong regulation inspires trust.  Weak regulation encourages distrust of supplement products and the entire industry.  When I see a Supplement Facts label, I have no reason to trust that the label reflects the contents of the package.  Until supplements are subjected to the same level of regulation as food products, caveat emptor.

Special Edition: DSHEA at 25

The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 created the framework for the modern supplement industry. In 1994, the industry was worth $4 bn. Now it is estimated to be worth over $40 bn.

In this special edition we will talk to some of the industry legends who helped to craft the law, we’ll learn about NPQAA, we’ll hear from the head of the FDA’s Office of Dietary Supplement Programs on the need to modernize the law, get the views of some of the industry association leaders, and look to the future.

• DSHEA at 25: In conversation with Scott Bass and Loren Israelsen: The brilliant strategy of Sen. Orrin Hatch, the upswell of grassroots consumer pressure, and the ‘highly unusual’ personal intervention of an FDA Commissioner: The development and passage of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act is a fascinating story….. Read
• What was NPQAA and what role did it play in the successful passage of DSHEA?  While much of the focus around DSHEA was on Capitol Hill and the machinations of government, an important behind-the-scenes contribution came from the short lived Natural Products Quality Assurance Alliance. But what was NPQAA and how did it help?.. Watch now
• FDA’s Tave: ‘Opportunity to strengthen regulatory framework couldn’t come at a more pivotal time’: With scientific advances and the growth of the dietary supplements industry on one hand, and the proliferation of adulterated and misbranded products on the other, the opportunity to modernize DSHEA couldn’t come at a better time… Read
• DSHEA Was Not Carved in Stone: Want to spark controversy? Just suggest to some audiences that it’s time to amend DSHEA… Read
• Balancing consumer access and safety: Looking back 25 years, there are several remarkable aspects of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) amendments to the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act), which transformed how dietary supplements are regulated… Read
• Fabricant on DSHEA: ‘Why are we talking about modernizing something that has never been fully implemented?’  As talk in the industry and at the FDA continues around the modernization of DSHEA, not everyone thinks big changes are needed. “The best thing the Agency does is inspect and test,” says NPA’s Dr Daniel Fabricant… Watch now
• Critic says FDA’s slow enforcement makes ‘DSHEA 2.0’ a side issue: Industry critic Dr Pieter Cohen, MD, said FDA’s enforcement is overly deliberate, making any discussion about revisions to DSHEA more or less moot… Read
• Bodybuilding.com VP on DSHEA: What changes could improve the regulation of dietary supplements: Bodybuilding.com’s John Venardos shares some of his ideas to improve the regulation of the dietary supplements industry, from better transparency to greater FDA staff accountability, and how to level the playing field… Watch now
• If botanicals don’t fit easily under supplement heading, why not try to fix that?  Should the creation of a new herbal medicine category be one of the goals of the upcoming discussions about a new regulatory framework? If it were possible, such a change could clear up many of the ambiguities surrounding the marketing of these products as dietary supplements… Read
• What should DSHEA 2.0 look like? Here are a couple of suggestions: On Monday FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb put forward some ideas about where the regulation of dietary supplements should go in the coming years. This is an opportunity that should not be missed. What should be tops on the industry’s wish list?.. Read