CRN is pleased to announce that Puerto Rico Administrative Order (AO) 346, which would have created a registration fee on the island for both dietary supplements and retailers who sell them, will not be enforced, thanks to the efforts and cooperation of Puerto Rico’s Secretary of Health, Ana Ríus Armendáriz, M.D. The Department of Health order, which CRN has been following since February, would have raised the prices of supplements for Puerto Rican consumers, limiting their access to products and negatively impacting business that contribute to the local economy. Read more...

UL gave CRN’s Board of Directors an advance look at the progress on the Supplement OWL, the new product registry under development, at the Board’s meeting in Baltimore, Maryland, last week. Nine volunteer companies have input more than 3,000 labels into the beta-version of the database and are addressing particular issues that will ease the process of acquiring and uploading labels from various sources (company databases, spreadsheets, PDFs, etc.).

The Board learned about the registry’s search functions, similar to a Google search, allowing users to search for labels by company, ingredient, contact information, and ingredients per serving. Interested in learning more? Beta testing of the Supplement OWL will continue through October, culminating in a grand reveal at CRN’s annual conference.

The Global Retailer and Manufacturer Alliance (GRMA), a collaboration of stakeholders in the dietary supplement industry, will release the first official American National Standard for Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) in early 2017. The ANSI-approved standard will strengthen safety, quality, and trust throughout the dietary supplement manufacturing process, and will give consumers added confidence in products manufactured in facilities that have been audited to the new standards. Learn more about the upcoming GMP standard and what it means to the industry in this NSF press release.

Due to the growing length of CRN’s Consumer Survey on Dietary Supplements, CRN has chosen to divide the survey into two separate elements. The “public” survey will contain questions that CRN traditionally uses for industry publicity purposes, and a “proprietary” survey will contain questions not normally publicized, but utilized for research and consumer insights. Companies interested in receiving data from both surveys, including a consumer journey mapping analysis and two executive summaries, may serve as funders. For more information on the surveys and how to become a funder, contact Nancy Weindruch (202-204-7684).

Supplement your need for iron at CRN’s annual golf tournament! Held Oct. 26, concurrently with The Workshop: CRN’s Day of Science (sorry, you have to choose one!), this year’s tournament, sponsored by Balchem/Albion Laboratories, will take place at Pelican Hill’s North Course. A Tom Fazio design, the course features jaw-dropping views of the ocean at every tee. If you’re interested in joining us out on the green, be sure to sign up when you register for The Conference. Already registered and want to add the tournament to your itinerary? Contact Maya English (202-204-7687) as soon as possible.

NOTE: CRN's group rate at the Ritz-Carlton host hotel ends this Friday, Sept. 30. Register and book your room now.

CRN extends congratulations to The Wonderful Company and Cargill who have been named finalists for the 2016 Corporate Citizen Awards. The awards, named by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, recognize companies that serve as “amazing examples of businesses doing well by doing good.” The Wonderful Company is up for the Best Community Improvement Program award, and Cargill is in the running for the Best Corporate Steward - Large Business award. To learn more about the Corporate Citizens Awards, see the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation website.

Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller recently commended Walmart on its decision to eliminate an “independent verification” statement on its store-brand Spring Valley dietary supplement labels nationwide. According to General Miller, the agreement was the culmination of cooperative discussions in which Walmart committed to change the labels in question, despite the company’s belief that consumers had not been harmed. General Miller was concerned that the “verification” statement could mislead consumers, giving a false impression as to what product features an independent lab actually verified. The AG’s Consumer Protection Division learned of the verification statement during a wide-ranging review of dietary supplement industry marketing practices. The verification statement appeared on about 60 Spring Valley supplements, including some offerings of echinacea, garlic, ginseng, gingko biloba, St. John’s wort, and saw palmetto.

“The product registry is a potential game-changer for our industry...”

—CRN’s Steve Mister in Nutraingredients, “Companies Beta-Testing CRN’s dietary Supplement Product Registry”

What else did CRN have to say?

Health Canada recently issued an invitation for comments for a proposed new approach to regulate the entire range of self-care products (i.e., those products directly available without a health care practitioner prescription, which includes cosmetics, over-the-counter drugs and natural health products). Health Canada noted self-care products are often grouped together in stores based on their intended use and may have similar packaging with claims that they treat the same conditions, potentially misleading consumers to believe that these products are all equally effective and subject to the same legal requirements. Read more...

CRN has submitted comments to the Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses (CCNFSDU) Electronic Working Group (directed by Australia) in support of further discussion and resolution on a Codex Nutrient Reference Value – Requirement (NRV-R) for Vitamin E. CRN insisted the initial value of 9 mg/day was insufficient, and proposed raising the value to a level of 12 mg/day or 15 mg/day.For more information, contact Jim Griffiths (202-204-7662).

CRN joined other leading trade organizations representing the dietary supplement industry as cohosts of the 27th Congressional Dietary Supplement Caucus (DSC) luncheon, held Sept. 13 on Capitol Hill. At the event, Michael Grandner, Ph.D., MTR, CBSM, director, Sleep and Health Program, and assistant professor, Psychiatry, Medicine and Psychology, at the University of Arizona College of Medicine - Tucson, spoke to over thirty congressional staffers.

“I know in D.C. there are lots of people who are skimping on sleep,” Dr. Grandner quipped. “[But] sleep is part of our biology. It’s really important for health.”Dr. Grandner discussed the health benefits of adequate sleep, addressing the negative outcomes from lack of sleep and the dietary supplements that can help improve sleep.

The California Office of Administrative Law recently approved amendments to the California Code of Regulations, Article 6, which describes the legal requirements for “clear and reasonable warnings under Proposition 65. This action provides, among other things, the methods of transmission and content of warnings deemed to be compliant with the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (Proposition 65). Read a summary of the changes by CRN’s Rend Al-Mondhiry of the Prop 65 changes on CRN’s Members Only website. For more information, contact Rend Al-Mondhiry (202-204-7672).

As highlighted in the Aug. 31 edition of The Report, CRN continues to monitor the progress of New Jersey Senate Bill 2502. A companion legislation (A 4089) was introduced in the New Jersey Assembly Sept. 15. The bills were referred to the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee and the Assembly Health and Senior Services Committee, respectively. The bills would create a Dietary Supplement Task Force to examine such issues as reporting requirements, new fees and taxes, age restrictions, signage requirements and facility inspections associated with supplements. CRN will oppose the legislation and will update members as appropriate. For more information, contact Ingrid Lebert (202-204-7699).

The U.S. House has introduced a bill intended to strengthen FDA’s authority over the cosmetics industry. A companion to similar Senate bill introduced last year, the legislation has bipartisan support and was unveiled by Energy and Commerce Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Committee Member Rep. Leonard Lance (R-NJ). Currently, FDA is charged with cosmetic oversight, but manufacturers are not required to register with the agency, provide ingredient information, or test cosmetic products for safety before going to market under FDA authority. A section by section breakdown of the House bill can be found here. Last Thursday, the Senate HELP Committee held a hearing on the Senate legislation, the Personal Care Products Safety Act. CRN is monitoring the activity for potential impact on supplement regulation. For more information, contact Mike Greene (202-204-7690).

A recent randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study published in the Journal of Dietary Supplements examined the effects of a mushroom blend containing Cordyceps militaris on high-intensity exercise after periods of one week and three weeks of supplementation. Twenty-eight participants received 4g per day of the mushroom blend or placebo and their maximal oxygen consumption, time to exhaustion and ventilatory threshold were measured during a high-intensity exercise test. Relative peak power output, average power output and percent drop were recorded. Results showed acute supplementation with a Cordyceps militaris-containing mushroom blend may improve tolerance to high-intensity exercise, with a potential for greater benefits through consistent chronic supplementation. See abstract for more information.

See CRN's Research Watch for additional studies.

CRN’s Workshop and Conference are right around the corner—have you registered? CRN group rates at the Ritz-Carlton host hotel end this Friday, Sept. 30. Register and book today!

September 26–27
NAD Advertising Conference
New York, NY
—Al-Mondhiry (presenting); Mister (presenting)

September 26–30
Codex Coordinating Committee for Asia (CCAsia)
New Delhi, India
—Griffiths

September 28–29
NIH Meeting: Iron Screening and Supplementation in Iron-replete Pregnant Women and Young Children
Bethesda, MD
—Nguyen

September 29–30
4th Annual Food & Beverage Litigation, Compliance and Regulatory Exchange
Chicago, IL
—Al-Mondhiry (presenting)

September 29–30
U.S. Chambers Fall Board Meeting
Washington, D.C.
—MacKay

October 3–4
2016 NAAG Fall Consumer Protection Seminar
Phoenix, AZ
—Al-Mondhiry

October 5–8
Supplyside West
Las Vegas, NV
—various staff attending

October 5
NSF Dietary Supplements Joint Committee –  2016 Face-to-Face Meeting at Supply Side West
Las Vegas, NV
—MacKay

October 6
American Botanical Council (ABC) Advisory Board Meeting at Supply Side West
Las Vegas, NV
—MacKay

October 8–13
International Society of Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods (ISNFF)
Orlando, FL
—Griffiths (moderating)

October 11
CRN Staff Retreat
All staff participating; office will be closed to normal business

October 26
The Workshop: CRN’s Day of Science
Dana Point, CA
—CRN Staff

October 26–29
The Conference: CRN’s Annual Symposium for the Dietary Supplement Industry
Dana Point, CA
—CRN Staff

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