Most Americans take dietary supplements and are confident in their safety, quality and effectiveness, according to CRN’s 2015 Consumer Survey on Dietary Supplements—why not share this good news with friends and colleagues on social media? CRN now has “snackable” graphics (quick to read, easily understood, short form, perfect for sharing) that depict survey data showing the important role supplements play in Americans’ health and wellness. For more information, contact Nancy Weindruch (nweindruch@crnusa.org / 202-204-7684).

Alabama state Attorney General Luther Strange and his communications director Mike Lewis visited the Pharmavite facility in the city of Opelika last week for a tour. CRN’s Rend Al-Mondhiry joined top Pharmavite executives, including: Christine Burdick-Bell, vice president, Legal & Regulatory Affairs; Carolyn Sabatini, director, Government and Corporate Relations; Paul Bolar, vice president, Regulatory Affairs; and Brett Buatti, vice president, Operations; as well as Kristina Krider, quality manager and Lance Buchanan, director, Plant Operations at the Opelika facility. More.

“Regardless of what one thinks about the regulatory framework for the dietary supplement industry, meaningful discussions about improving public policy for one industry should not be based on statistics that cover a patchwork of several industries,” CRN’s Duffy MacKay wrote in a letter to the editor of The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) recently published online. Dr. MacKay’s missive came in response to the article, “Emergency Department Visits Related to Dietary Supplements.” More.

The U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention (USP), a CRN Associate Member, is hosting a complimentary 90-minute webinar on nomenclature guidelines for dietary supplements on this Thursday, Feb. 25, from 11:00 am to 12:30 pm, Eastern. Find out more and register.

CRN is partnering with Informa Exhibitions to highlight Ingredient Marketplace, taking place April 27–29 in Orlando, Florida. Register by March 4 to get the Marketplace Pass for only $99 and access: the 2-day Expo Hall, Storefronts Live presentations, Trends in Sports Nutrition presentation, Keynote Panel & Reverse Happy Hour. Visit supplysideshow.com for details.

As part of its educational series for industry, CRN will hold a new conference, The Regulatory Summit, on Wednesday, May 5, at the Hyatt Regency, Bethesda, Md. The Regulatory Summit, a one-day event, will feature sessions held in an interactive format to help attendees formulate clear direction and options for addressing current regulatory compliance matters confronting dietary supplements and functional foods. Find out more and register today: www.crnusa.org/RegSummit.

CRN will again partner with the American Conference Institute (ACI) on the popular Legal, Regulatory and Compliance Forum on Dietary Supplements—now in its fourth iteration. CRN and ACI teamed up for the first time last year for a sold-out meeting convening top executives to hear from experts on legal and regulatory hot topics. Co-chairs Scott Bass of Sidley Austin and CRN’s Steve Mister are currently developing the agenda. See www.crnusa.org/ACI for more information. Sponsorship opportunities are available, for details please contact Carl Hyland (chyland@crnusa.org / 202-204-7674).

“We continue to strongly disagree with a lot of what came out of the NY AG investigation, but it did amplify a conversation that was already going on in the industry, and hastened the conversations about supply chain integrity and transparency, so we do have to give that whole episode some credit for encouraging some companies to consider it more.”

—CRN’s Steve Mister, NutraIngredients.com, “Were the NY AG actions a tipping point for transparency in dietary supplements?”

What else did CRN have to say?

If your company does business globally, you will want to support and engage in CRN-International (CRN-I). CRN-I is a European-based platform for CRN to disseminate research and science-backed policy recommendations regarding the regulation of dietary/food supplements. CRN’s Jim Griffith’s recently called on CRN members to join CRN-I to help develop its annual scientific symposium and to provide scientific resources to scientists and regulators across the globe with abstracts of publications in multiple languages, including those used by WHO/FAO/Codex—for example the recently posted translations of the Foreword and Methodology of CRN’s Vitamin & Mineral Safety 3rd edition in Chinese, English, Portuguese and Spanish now available on CRN-I’s website. Contact Jim Griffiths for more information (jgriffiths@crnusa.org / 202-204-7662).

Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) last week introduced companion GMO legislation to Rep. Mike Pompeo’s (R-KS) “Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Law” HR 1599 (which was passed in the House in July). The bills, considered by many to be a best-case-scenario when it comes to GMO labeling, as it includes federal preemption—there is a sense of urgency with Vermont’s GMO law slated to go into effect this July. A hearing on the bill will be held this Thursday. CRN does not actively lobby on GMO legislation, but supports a national standard over a patchwork of state bills.

Support grows for HSA/FSA supplement legislation

Legislation that would allow consumers to purchase dietary supplements with Health Savings Account (HSA) and Flexible Spending Account (FSA) funds—with their pre-tax earnings—is gaining support. CRN strongly supported similar legislation in the past and urged that it be re-introduced. CRN’s Steve Mister wrote Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Rep. Erik Paulsen (R-MN) applauding the introductions in the Senate and House respectively. The association thanked co-sponsors via Twitter and is encouraging further support among legislators on Capitol Hill.

“As we enter 2016, I strongly urge the FDA to issue a new draft of its NDI guidance that does not undermine the balance Congress struck in DSHEA,” Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) wrote in a recent letter to the administration, more than four years after the original was released. Natural Products INSIDER covered the news, quoting CRN’s Mike Greene (see CRN in the News). CRN remains poised to review the draft guidance and to provide comments to FDA as well as to conduct industry education promptly following the agency’s release of a new draft.

California AG proposes amendments to Prop 65

The California Office of the Attorney General (AG) recently gave notice of proposed amendments to Prop 65 regulation. These amendments would affect settlement terms, penalty amounts, and attorney’s fees in civil actions filed by private persons in the public interest pursuant to Proposition 65. See more on CRN’s Members Only website.

New state legislation: Rhode Island, Wyoming introduce GMO bills; Florida seeks kratom crackdown

See the latest update from CRN’s Ingrid Lebert on CRN’s Members Only website.

Industry disappointed in FDA funding

The President’s FY 17 budget request for FDA proposes only a $15 million increase over the agency’s FY 16 budget authority (BA) appropriations—disappointing news to industry stakeholders. As noted by the Alliance for a Stronger FDA, of which CRN is a member, FDA’s needs will be greater in FY 17 than FY 16—by more than $15 million, and the Alliance is recommending that FDA’s BA appropriation grow by $120 million to take the agency from the FY 16 funding level of $2.73 billion to a proposed $2.85 billion for FY 17.  Read more in the Alliance’s press release and funding analysis.

Regulatory roundup

• FDA recently announced funding opportunities for education, training and technical assistance under the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).
• The agency also announced it would reopen the comment period on its proposed rule to establish “gluten-free” labeling compliance requirements for fermented, hydrolyzed and distilled foods.
• There will be a public meeting on FSMA prevention-oriented import system regulations and implementation on March 21.
• See CRN’s ‘For Your Regulatory Info’ site for updates, or contact Haiuyen Nguyen (202-204-7669).
  

CRN talks food policy in an election year at member-hosted IFT event

CRN’s Andrea Wong and Mike Greene played key roles in the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) all-day meeting on Food Policy Impact hosted by CRN Associate Member company Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP in Washington, DC, last week. The one-day program provided the opportunity to hear from—and network with—officials from the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) and the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), along with leading attorneys and industry leaders. Dr. Wong served on the planning committee and Mr. Greene discussed balancing food business, politics and policy.

The need for iodine supplementation continues to get attention as New Hope 360 recently covered a British study published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology showing it can boost a baby’s cognitive function and concluding that pregnant women should take supplemental iodine. Researchers investigated the cost-effectiveness of iodine supplementation versus no supplementation for pregnant women in a mildly to moderately iodine-deficient population for which a population-based iodine supplementation program did not exist. In addition to cost savings for the U.K., the authors noted their findings also have implications for the 1.88 billion people in the 32 countries with iodine deficiency worldwide. See study abstract.

See CRN's Research Watch for more studies.

CRN’s Steve Mister and Duffy MacKay present in Utah at The UNPA Raw Materials & Supply Chain Summit and more.

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 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 Webinar—Safety 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 (presenting); Greene; Hyland

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

MARCH 14–15
CHPA Annual Executive Conference
Aventura, FL
—Mister

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

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

MARCH 29–31
USP Dietary Supplements – Herbal Medicines Expert Committee Meeting
Rockville, MD
—Griffiths

MARCH 30
Government Relations Committee Teleconference
Washington, DC
—Greene; Lebert; Wroblewski

APRIL 2–6
Experimental Biology / American Society of Nutrition Annual Meeting
San Diego, CA
—Griffiths; Wong

APRIL 12
CRN Communications and Media Outreach Committee In-person Meeting
Washington, DC
—Blatman

APRIL 13–15
State Government Affairs Council National Summit
Portland, OR
—Greene

APRIL 14
Dietary Supplement Caucus Educational Lunch Briefing
Washington, DC
—Mister; Lebert; Wroblewski

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

APRIL 27–29
Ingredient Marketplace
Orlando, FL
—Mister; Hyland

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 1
USP Dietary Supplements Stakeholder Panel
Rockville, MD
—Griffiths

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 27–29
CRN/ACI Legal & Regulatory Conference
New York City
—CRN Staff

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