CRN Member Newsletter
FEBRUARY 8, 2016 | NEWSLETTER ARCHIVES

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CRN 2015 Annual Report highlights last year’s challenges, victories

From the unexpected challenges brought about by the New York Attorney General’s (NY AG) allegations to moving forward with first steps toward enhanced industry transparency, 2015 was a busy year for the dietary supplement industry. Check out CRN’s 2015 Annual Report, available on the Members-Only website, to see how we stayed focused on our goals and the member companies who drive them. Print copies also available upon request.

ASSOCIATE MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

SC governor Haley visits Nutramax Laboratories—CRN encourages other members to host government officials

CRN member company Nutramax Laboratories had a special guest—Gov. Nikki Haley—tour its South Carolina facility last week as the company celebrated an expansion. The Republican governor toured the state-of-the-art facility and spoke to over 120 guests, which included local elected officials, community & business leaders and regional press, emphasizing the quality of Nutramax Laboratories’ products and the company’s contribution to the state’s economy and local community. Check out Nutramax Laboratories’ Facebook page for pics and the South Carolina Department of Commerce website for more.

CRN encourages its member companies to meet with their elected officials on their home turf. CRN can help its members organize these visits, which position the responsible dietary supplement industry positively by spotlighting the popularity, benefits, quality and safety of dietary supplement and functional food products and the industry’s role in strong economies. Contact CRN’s Ingrid Lebert for more information (ilebert@crnusa.org / 202-204-7699).


CRN members, staff publish paper calling for safety framework for natural product-drug interactions

CRN’s Jim Griffiths with Amy Roe, of CRN member company Procter & Gamble and Kenneth Brouwer, of CRN associate member company Qualyst Transporter Solutions, collaborated with co-authors Mary Paine of Washington State University, Bill Gurley of the University of Arkansas, and Scott Jordan of Health Canada to publish an article in the peer-reviewed journal Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology, “Assessing Natural Product–Drug Interactions: An End-to-End Safety Framework.” The article includes discussion from a session held at the 41st Annual Summer Meeting of the Toxicology Forum in 2015, moderated by Dr. Griffiths, which he organized with Dr. Roe, to highlight challenges and critical components that should be included in a framework for an integrated, robust approach to assessing natural product-drug interactions.

NCCIH presents interactive quiz for consumers on drug-supplement interactions

The National Institutes of Health National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) has a new resource to help consumers learn about drug-supplement interactions—an interactive quiz. NCCIH advises consumers to be sure to let their health care providers know about all dietary supplements and drugs they take.

CRN in the News

“This marks the start of a new era for our industry. Our members can no longer allow those companies skirting the laws to tarnish our reputation. This first step toward greater transparency for regulators and researchers is long overdue, and we strongly urge others in the industry to work with us on this and future initiatives that will ultimately build a stronger industry.”

—CRN’s Steve Mister, Drug Store News, “'Frontline' story latest to bash supplement industry

What else did CRN have to say?

CONTACT CRN WITH YOUR QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS

FDA sticks with soy/heart health claim,
but is reviewing the evidence

FDA recently rejected a petition asking it to rescind the health claim on soy protein and coronary heart disease (CHD), but the noted it is “actively reviewing the entire body of evidence to allow [for] a more well-informed decision regarding next steps for this health claim.” NutraIngredients.com reported on the news, providing background on the petition and links to legal analysis.

GMO bills surface again in Hawaii

In state legislative news, Hawaii has three new bills dealing with GMOs—one requiring biotech companies in certain circumstances to “provide written disclosure of possible risks,” another prohibiting planting GMO seeds and plants in open fields and one requiring labeling of any food or raw agricultural commodity sold in the state that contains GMO material. Find out more about this and other state issues on CRN’s Members-Only website.

Hatch/Paulsen introduce HSA legislation

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Rep. Erik Paulsen (R-MN) have re-introduced legislation that would allow, among other things, the purchase of dietary supplements with Health Savings Account (HSA) and Flexible Spending Account (FSA) funds. CRN, along with other industry associations, has strongly supported this bill in previous Congresses and urged that it be re-introduced this year. Find out more on CRN’s Members-Only website and Natural Products INSIDER’s article quoting CRN’s Mike Greene.

Prop 65 warning website development is a go; CRN, CalChamber each submit comments on clear and reasonable warnings

California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) recently announced the adoption of a regulation that will eventually establish a website to provide supplemental information to the public about warnings they receive for exposures to Proposition 65 listed chemicals. Separately, CRN and CalChamber each submitted comments on the proposed adoption of new Prop 65 regulations on clear and reasonable warnings. See CRN’s Members-Only website for more.

SAVE THE DATE

USP GMP Audit Program offers CRN Members discount—offer good until April

The U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention (USP), a CRN Associate Member, is offering CRN members a 25 percent discount for participation in its new good manufacturing practice (GMP) audit certification program until April 2016. Contact Marcia Moll for more information (mzm@usp.org / 240-472-2907).

EAS to offer deep dive into FSMA regulation during seminar, March 29–30

CRN Associate Member EAS will hold an intensive compliance training seminar on FDA’s Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), 21 CFR Part 117—Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventative Controls for Human Food (HARPC)—as well as a step-by-step discussion of the various subparts on March 29–30 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Find out more and register via EAS’ website.

CRN/Skipta webinar to clarify AER data for health care practitioners

CRN is again partnering with Skipta, the leading network of specialized online medical communities for verified health care professionals, to present a free webinar for pharmacists and nurse practitioners. “Safety by the Numbers: Making Sense of Dietary Supplement Adverse Event Data” will feature SafetyCall International expert Rick Kingston, PharmD., and take place March 3 at 1 pm Eastern, with an on-demand option. Find out more.

Research Watch highlight: Iron shown to improve post-partum depression

Early iron supplementation in mothers with postpartum depression (PPD) significantly improves iron stores and causes a significant improvement in PPD with a 42.8 percent improvement rate over six weeks, according to a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial published in the European Journal of Nutrition. The study included 70 mothers who were randomly allocated to receive 50 mg elemental iron daily or placebo. See study abstract.

See CRN's Research Watch for more studies.

Vitamin D for athletes spotlighted

A recent Wall Street Journal article highlighted vitamin D for athletic performance, citing several recent studies that showed deficiency for the vitamin is common among athletes and linking low levels to increased instances of injury. Randy Bird, director of sports nutrition for the University of Virginia, encourages every athlete to take vitamin D, the article notes, quoting him saying, “The research on it outside of muscle and bone injuries is that it’s great for your immune system... And we can’t afford to have athletes missing for illness.”
CRN Calendar

CRN President & CEO Steve Mister presents on NutraIngredients.com ‘Transparency’ Online Forum and Jim Griffiths presents at ToxForum this week. Mike Greene talks election year politics at IFT and Rend Al-Mondhiry attends several Attorneys General association events this month...and more.

FEBRUARY 9–10
Member & Prospective Member Meetings
Connecticut, New York & New Jersey
—Mister

FEBRUARY 10
Toxicology Forum 40th Annual Winter Meeting
Washington, DC
—Griffiths (presenting)

FEBRUARY 11
NutraIngredients.com ‘Transparency’ Online Forum
—Mister (presenting)

FEBRUARY 11
FDLI Medical Foods Regulation Webinar
—Al-Mondhiry (presenting)

FEBRUARY 16
Dietary Supplement Caucus Educational Lunch Briefing
Washington, DC
—Mister; Greene; Lebert; Wroblewski

FEBRUARY 17
CRN-DC in-person meeting
Washington, DC
—Greene; Lebert; Wroblewski

FEBRUARY 17
SIDI Work Group Teleconference
—MacKay; Nguyen

FEBRUARY 18
IFT Food Policy Impact Meeting

Washington, DC
—Greene (presenting); Wong

FEBRUARY 21
Democratic Attorneys General Association (DAGA) Pre-NAAG Reception & Dinner
Washington, DC
—Al-Mondhiry

FEBRUARY 21–22
Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) Winter National Meeting
Washington, DC
—Al-Mondhiry

FEBRUARY 22–24
National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG)
Washington, DC
—Al-Mondhiry

FEBRUARY 23
FDLI Introduction to Food Law and Regulation Course: Understanding How the Government Regulates the Food Industry
Washington, DC
—Al-Mondhiry (presenting)

FEBRUARY 23–24
The UNPA Raw Materials & Supply Chain Summit
Salt Lake City, UT
—MacKay (presenting 2/23); Mister (presenting 2/24)

FEBRUARY 23–24
Government Relations Committee Teleconference
Washington, DC
—Greene; Lebert; Wroblewski

FEBRUARY 25, 26, 29
Member & Prospective Member Meetings
Boise, ID & Salt Lake City, UT
—Mister

FEBRUARY 27–28
Congressman Jason Chaffetz Fundraiser
Park City, UT
—Mister

MARCH 3
Skipta WebinarSafety by the Numbers: Making Sense of Dietary Supplement Adverse Event Data with Rick Kingston, PharmD.
—Powers

MARCH 7–10
2016 National PAC Conference
Miami Beach, FL
—Wroblewski

MARCH 9–13
Natural Products Expo West
Anaheim, CA
—Mister; Greene; Hyland

MARCH 13–17
Society of Toxicology Annual Meeting and ToxExpo
New Orleans, LA
—Griffiths

MARCH 16
CRN Executive Committee Meeting
Washington, DC
—CRN Staff

MARCH 17
CRN Board of Directors Meeting
Washington, DC
—CRN Staff

APRIL 25–29
International Alliance of Dietary Supplement Associations (IADSA) Annual Meeting

Prague, CZ
—Griffiths (presenting)

APRIL 26–27
NTP Workshop: Addressing Challenges in the Assessment of Botanical Dietary Supplement Safety
Bethesda, MD
—MacKay; Wong

MAY 5
CRN Regulatory Summit
Bethesda, MD
—MacKay; Griffiths; Wong; Nguyen

MAY 24–25
CRN Communications and Media Outreach Committee
In-Person Meeting

New York City
—Blatman; Powers; Weindruch; Eischen; Lewis

JUNE 7
CRN Executive Committee Meeting
Washington, DC
—CRN Staff

JUNE 8
CRN’s Day on the Hill
Washington, DC
—CRN Staff

JUNE 9
CRN Board of Directors Meeting
Washington, DC
—CRN Staff

JUNE 28–29
CRN/ACI Legal & Regulatory Conference
New York City
—CRN Staff

SEE FULL CALENDAR FOR 2016, WITH DATES BEING ADDED THROUGHOUT THE YEAR


ABOUT THE REPORT