CRN Commends FDA’s Commitment to Consumer Safety and Enhancing Dietary Supplement Regulation —Agency Launches the Dietary Supplement Ingredient Advisory

Washington, D.C., April 16, 2019 – In response to a statement issued April 16 by Deputy Commissioner for Food Policy and Response, Frank Yiannas, FDA, announcing its new Dietary Supplement Ingredient Advisory List, the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), the leading trade association for the dietary supplement and functional food industry, issued the following statement:

Statement by Andrew Shao, Ph.D., interim senior vice president, scientific & regulatory affairs, CRN:

“CRN applauds the launch of FDA’s new Dietary Supplement Ingredient Advisory List. Protecting consumers from ingredients that appear to be unlawfully marketed in dietary supplements is a critical component of FDA’s regulatory oversight, and so we are pleased that a new platform to alert consumers more rapidly than in the past has been established. We recommend that consumers bookmark and regularly visit the Ingredient Advisory List. 

In addition to rapidly alerting the public, the new tool will allow FDA to exert greater regulatory enforcement in the face of limited resources. CRN stands strong with FDA in its fight against companies who are deliberately violating the law, and we encourage the mainstream dietary supplement industry to do the same. By embracing FDA’s new tool, the industry demonstrates support for the agency’s efforts to preserve the balance between access and safety for the 170 million Americans taking dietary supplements each year. 

Together, with FDA, the mainstream dietary supplement industry is committed to providing consumers with safe, high-quality dietary supplements. CRN is eager to collaborate with FDA as the agency unveils initiatives, like the Dietary Supplement Ingredient Advisory List. In the meantime, we hope the agency’s announcement serves as a clear warning to bad actors in the fringes of our industry—the regulators are coming for you if you attempt to skirt the law.” 

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_SupplementsFacebook, and LinkedIn.