Just in time for the New Year, CRN is gearing up to unveil a fresh, new website—that’s mobile-friendly! Featuring an elegant design that modernizes CRN’s web presence, the site will allow a streamlined, intuitive user experience, including a powerful search engine that helps you find what you’re looking for with 21st century ease. Equipped with a new and improved members-only portal, the site will serve as a catalyst for member-to-member communication, including individual committee pages and a detailed member directory. CRN thanks you for your patience as we apply the finishing touches to our new online home.

Questions? Contact Gretchen Powers (202-204-7682).

The Supplement OWL has landed and is ready to accept product labels from supplement manufacturers. The industry-wide product registry is set to publically launch in early 2017—but it needs your labels first. The Supplement OWL will serve as a one stop shop for regulators and retailers looking to evaluate and compare products on the market. By imputing your company’s labels, you demonstrate the responsibility of the industry and ensure the OWL is well-fed, providing an accurate representation of the products available to consumers. Visit the Supplement OWL’s landing page for more information.

CRN submitted fresh comments on the revised Puerto Rican Administrative Order (AO) 346, maintaining its position that the regulation would be detrimental to both consumers and the supplement industry on the island. Calling AO 346 “misguided,” CRN reemphasized the important role supplements play in the health regimens of Puerto Rican citizens and pointed out ways in which the Order, if implemented, would limit access to products, and financially harm consumers and the industry. Read CRN’s previous comments, submitted in October, here.

Coverage of CRN’s actions addressing AO 346 has been featured in the Report throughout the year. CRN has actively engaged with Puerto Rican legislators, urging lawmakers to suspend the “unnecessary” and “restrictive” AO’s development, as well as briefing members of Congress who are developing a debt relief package for the island.

For more information on CRN’s action in Puerto Rico, contact Ingrid Lebert (202-204-7699).

For her consistent and reliable advocacy on behalf of the industry, Whole Foods Magazine named Cara Welch, Ph.D., its 2016 Person of the Year. Dr. Welch is a Senior Advisor at FDA, having also worked at the Natural Products Association (NPA). In particular regard to her work on the NDI Draft Guidance, Whole Foods noted Dr. Welch “provides a model for how FDA can effectively communicate with our industry that is not pandering, but rather a thoughtful dialogue.” CRN extends its congratulations to Dr. Welch and thanks her for being a candid “straight shooter” and a dependable resource for industry at the FDA.

Don’t forget! CRN and Informa join forces tomorrow, Dec. 6, from 2 - 4pm EST, to present a webinar entitled “California’s Proposition 65: Recent Developments in Litigation, Regulation, and Compliance.”California’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, commonly known as “Prop 65,” requires businesses to warn residents about significant exposures to chemicals that may cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm. This webinar, moderated by Rend Al-Mondhiry, will provide an overview of recent and potential Prop 65 developments and regulatory changes to assist dietary supplement and food companies with compliance and to help mitigate the risk of litigation. More information is available here.

“We are a $39 billion dollar industry that wants to continue to attract new consumers with growth rates that are the envy of other consumer goods. With that comes responsibility.”

—CRN’s Steve Mister in New Hope, “FDA's New Dietary Ingredient Guidance Challenges Industry”

What else did CRN have to say?

CRN is preparing comments to submit to FDA after the agency called upon industry for input to help determine whether particular isolated or synthetic non-digestible carbohydrates, such as inulin, should be added to its definition of “dietary fiber” for purposes of being declared as dietary fiber on a Nutrition Facts or Supplement Facts label. The window for submitting information and comments on the Draft Guidance opened on Nov. 23 and will be open for 45 days and 60 days, respectively.

President-Elect Donald Trump announced recently his intent to nominate Tom Price, M.D. (R-GA) for the position of Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The decision was applauded by industry allies Senate HELP Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT), who noted Rep. Price is well-equipped to assume the position and possesses a thorough understanding of health care policy. In this role, Rep. Price would have ultimate authority over the FDA.

As the new administration begins to take shape, CRN is well poised to take advantage of the upcoming changes. A recent members-only webinar examined CRN’s aggressive legislative agenda and is available upon request for those who may have missed it. Contact Anthony Wroblewski (202-204-7677) to gain exclusive access to the slide deck.

House Republicans elected Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR) on Thursday to chair the powerful House Energy & Commerce Committee, with jurisdiction over FDA and dietary supplements. Rep. Walden beat out Rep. Shimkus (R-IL) and Rep. Barton (R-TX) for the top committee spot. He replaces Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), who must step down from the position because of term limits on leadership. CRN maintains a good relationship with Rep. Walden’s office who has expressed support for the supplement industry in the past.

CRN learned that the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) voted to remove carrageenan from the National List of substances allowed as ingredients in or on processed products labeled as ‘‘organic’’ or ‘‘made with organic.” A move made at the NOSB Fall meeting, the recommendation must be reviewed by USDA before carrageenan is officially removed from the list. CRN submitted comments earlier this year urging NOSB to keep carrageenan on the organic list. CRN will provide more information regarding the timing of this process as it becomes available.

Quercetin supplementation could significantly reduce early morning stiffness, morning pain, and after-activity pain in women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), according to a study published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial placed 50 women with RA into a quercetin (500 mg/day) or placebo group for eight weeks. At the study’s conclusion, results showed significant improvements in clinical symptoms, disease activity, and Plasma levels of high-sensitivity tumor necrosis factor-α (hs-TNFα) in participants.

See CRN's Research Watch for additional studies.

December 5–9
Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses (CCNFSDU)
Hamburg, Germany
—Griffiths

December 7
Pesticides Roundtable
USP Meeting Center
Rockville, MD
—Atkinson

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

December 8
CRN Board of Directors Meeting
Washington, DC
—CRN Staff

December 8–9
Dietary Supplement Regulation: Labeling and Claims Conference
Alexandria, VA
—MacKay (presenting); Weindruch (presenting)

January 10
Public Affairs Agency Presentations
Washington, D.C.
—Mister; Blatman; Weindruch

January 12–18
FoodFluence 2017
Vienna, Austria
—Blatman; MacKay (presenting)

SEE FULL CALENDAR