Washington, D.C., March 5, 2020 – In response to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Congressional report on CBD, issued March 5, 2020, The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), the leading trade association for the dietary supplement and functional food industry, issued the following statement.
Statement by Steve Mister, president & CEO, CRN:
“CRN is disheartened by today’s FDA report to Congress on CBD. The time for “active consideration and evaluation” has long since passed. As we’ve said before, the time for action was more than a year ago, but we will settle for now. Today’s report amounts to more bureaucratic can-kicking, and Congress should recognize it as such and take action now to declare CBD a lawful dietary ingredient. That will direct FDA to allow CBD in dietary supplements and impose that significant regulatory framework on these products.
Every day, more CBD products come to market, some from responsible manufacturers, and some from less reputable companies. By not enforcing the full range of dietary supplement regulations on this category, FDA is essentially an absentee regulator and the public is at risk. As several recent risk assessments have demonstrated, the safety of CBD as an ingredient itself is no longer an issue. However, as long as FDA “actively” continues to drag its feet, the public is at risk from CBD products that may be poorly manufactured or illegally marketed. The best way to protect public health and promote market clarity is to give industry a clear pathway to market.”
Note to Editor: The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), founded in 1973, is a Washington, D.C.-based trade association representing 150+ dietary supplement and functional food manufacturers, ingredient suppliers, and companies providing services to those manufacturers and suppliers. In addition to complying with a host of federal and state regulations governing dietary supplements and food in the areas of manufacturing, marketing, quality control and safety, our manufacturer and supplier members also agree to adhere to additional voluntary guidelines as well as to CRN’s Code of Ethics. Visit www.crnusa.org. Follow us on Twitter @CRN_Supplements and LinkedIn.