I'm not a fan of the woefully understaffed, underfunded FDA. In spite of the business sector's overwhelming fiscal might, there are signs of hope. This story is one sign.
The Food and Drug Administration is moving forward with new proposals to the manufacturers of dietary supplements that have drawn a closer look because of claims of miracle weight loss.
The FDA already prohibits pharmaceutical companies from making misleading claims about their dietary supplements. To help manufacturers comply with these rules, the agency has issued voluntary guidelines for companies making dietary supplement claims.
The guidelines show what evidence companies will need to back up their dietary supplement's "general well-being claims." This could include articles published in peer-reviewed scientific journals, for example.
"It is unlikely that a dietary supplement manufacturer will attempt to make a claim when the cost of obtaining the evidence to support the claim outweighs the benefits of having the claim on the product’s label," the FDA wrote in the Federal Register.
Find this report: Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request;
Substantiation for Dietary Supplement Claims Made Under the Federal Food, Drug, and
Cosmetic Act here.
