CRN has selected Underwriters Laboratories, LLC (UL), a global independent safety science company, to develop and administer the dietary supplement product registry that the association says “will help create a fuller picture about the dietary supplement industry for industry regulators and serve retailers as a one-stop-shop to help compare product labels.” The online product registry will include full label information for dietary supplements and be accessible via the web. The agreement between CRN and UL calls for the registry to go into an immediate development stage with beta testing to occur this summer and is expected to be up and running by the end of the year. Read more in CRN’s press release.

The wait is over! Registration is now open for CRN’s 2016 events—The Workshop: CRN’s Day of Science and The Conference: CRN’s Annual Symposium for the Dietary Supplement Industry, taking place Oct. 26–29 at the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel Resort, in Dana Point, California. “These are exciting times of change in the industry, with a great energy behind our initiatives pushing positive growth. CRN’s conference has earned a reputation as a venue where transformations take hold as industry stakeholders come together and share ideas. Those who want to be part of the momentum will want to be sure to attend,” says CRN’s Steve Mister. Read more...

CRN’s Board of Directors met on Thursday, June 9, on the day following CRN’s “Day on the Hill,” annual lobbying event. At the meeting, CRN’s leadership took action including decisions on the product registry, a proposed public relations program, legislative priorities, welcomed four new members and more. For a quick summary of the Board’s agenda, see the topline report from the meeting, available on CRN’s Members Only website.

CRN and the National Advertising Division (NAD) of the Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB) toasted the 10^th anniversary of their self-regulatory program June 27 during a reception following the first day of the CRN/ACI 4th Annual Legal, Regulatory and Compliance Forum (see next story). Forum attendees gathered with representatives from CRN and NAD to celebrate 10 years’ worth of monitoring, reviewing and challenging dietary supplement advertisements and share a bit of levity posing as “The New Sheriff in Town”—a role CRN and NAD encouraged responsible members of industry to play in order to make the program a success. The anniversary, which CRN will continue to highlight throughout the remainder of the year, culminating at its annual conference in October, underscores the program’s many notable achievements, including more than 250 completed advertising challenges over the course of a decade. Read more in CRN’s press release and CRN in the News.

More than 100 top legal and regulatory experts participated in the CRN/ACI 4th Annual Legal, Regulatory and Compliance Forum last week in New York City, hearing from a faculty of more than 40 experts, including congressional staff, officials from FDA and FTC, three state attorney’s general offices, as well as CRN and several member companies. After opening remarks, CRN President & CEO Steve Mister addressed the group for the kickoff session, “New Insights on the Politics, Policy, and Regulation of Dietary Supplements: Analysis of the Latest Developments on the Hill and at FDA.” Read more...

Chairman Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) and Ranking Member Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) of the Senate Agriculture Committee have reached a deal on Biotech (GMO) Labeling. CRN is analyzing the legislation (Biotech Agreement – text, Biotech Agreement – summary, GMO language) and has signed on to a letter from the Coalition for Safe and Affordable Food to Senate leaders in support of the bill. While the July 4 recess paused progress on the bill, according to CRN’s Mike Greene, this Senate agreement is a significant step forward in this long and protracted debate on whether or not food should label the presence of GMOs. Full Senate approval is still uncertain. Read more on CRN’s Members Only website.

CRN last week learned that Massachusetts HB 3471—a bill that would ban the sale of weight-loss and muscle-building dietary supplements to minors—is off the table. The legislation was relegated to a study by the state legislature’s Joint Committee on Public Health (JCPH), according to a reliable source. CRN’s Ingrid Lebert explained, “While HB 3471 hasn’t been sent to the cutting room floor, it is very unlikely to see the light of day again. Unanimous decision is the only means to pull a bill back up from study.” CRN aggressively opposed the legislation since last summer. Read more on CRN’s Members Only website.

“When regulators and legislators wrongly look to stifle industry growth by insinuating that dietary supplements are not regulated, they should consider the contributions this industry makes to support infrastructure. CRN is making these new statistics on both the federal and state levels available on a new microsite at crnusa.org/economicimpact.”

—CRN’s Steve Mister in his bylined article appearing in Chain Drug Review, “Supplements—good for health, good for economy”

What else did CRN have to say?

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recently released its final research plan on vitamin D and/or calcium supplementation for the primary prevention of fractures in adults. CRN responded to USPSTF’s call for comments earlier this year, emphasizing that the draft’s focus on the role of vitamin D and/or calcium supplementation in fractures and fracture-related morbidity and mortality, instead of vitamin D status misses the mark. CRN is reviewing the final research plan. For more information, contact Andrea Wong (202-204-7660).

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will host a public workshop on Sept. 15 to examine the testing and evaluation of disclosures that companies make to consumers about advertising claims, privacy practices, and other information. The workshop, “Putting Disclosures to the Test,” will explore how to test the effectiveness of these disclosures to ensure consumers notice them, understand them, and can use them in their decision-making. Find out more on FTC’s website.

A randomized control trial published recently in the journal Nutrition showed supplementation with curcumin improved serum levels of adiponectin and leptin in patients with metabolic syndrome. Previous experimental studies have suggested curcumin as a safe phytochemical that can improve insulin resistance through effects on adiponectin and leptin. Eight-week supplementation with curcumin was associated with a significant increase in serum adiponectin levels and a reduction in serum leptin concentrations. See study abstract for more information.

See CRN's Research Watch for additional studies.

CRN staff meet with retailer executives, attorneys general and more this month...

JULY 5
Meet with Colorado Attorney General Consumer Protection Staff
Denver, CO
—Al-Mondhiry

JULY 8
Retailer Meeting with Rite-Aid
Harrisburg, PA
—Mister

JULY 15
Stakeholders’ Meeting – NSF International
Ann Arbor, MI
—Mister

JULY 17–20
Conference of Western Attorneys General
Sun Valley, ID
—Al-Mondhiry

JULY 24–28
Toxicology Forum 40th Annual Summer Meeting
Salt Lake City, UT
—Griffiths (presenting)

JULY 27
CRN’s Government Relations Committee Teleconference
Washington, DC
—Greene; Lebert; Wroblewski

JULY 27–30
American Association of Naturopathic Physicians 2016 Annual Convention & Exhibition: A Diversified Experience
Salt Lake City, Utah
—MacKay

AUGUST 9–11
Global Retailers & Manufacturers Alliance (GRMA) Summit
Ann Arbor, MI
—MacKay

AUGUST 14–16
American Society of Association Executives Annual Meeting
Salt Lake City, UT
—Mister

AUGUST 14–16
BlogHer
Los Angeles, California
—Blatman; Weindruch; Vogtman; MacKay

AUGUST 14–16
Sen. Hatch / Utah Charities Golf Tournament
Park City, UT
—Lebert

AUGUST 17
Retailer and member meetings
Boise, ID
—Mister

SEE FULL CALENDAR