The Short Report | Printable PDF
A topline report from the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN),
the leading trade association for the dietary supplement and functional food industry
Dietary supplement executives ‘storm’ Capitol Hill for the good of consumers
CRN joined forces with the American Herb
al Products Association (AHPA) to advocate for the dietary supplement and functional food industry during CRN’s 14th annual Day on the Hill, held in June in Washington, D.C. Reaching record attendance, the first co-branded Day on the Hill brought over 100 industry executives to Capitol Hill to conduct face-to-face meetings with more than 100 Congressional offices and committee staffers. Demonstrating to Congress the industry’s desire to speak in one united voice for the good of consumers, the group advocated for multivitamin inclusion in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), additional funding for enforcement at FDA, and the expansion of Flex Spending Accounts (FSAs) and Healthcare Savings Accounts (HSAs) to include dietary supplements.
In conjunction with CRN/AHPA’s Day on the Hill, the Dietary Supplement Caucus (DSC), a bipartisan group of House and Senate members who work to raise congressional awareness of supplements and the laws governing the industry, hosted a luncheon briefing featuring speaker Christie Rampone Pearce, the second-most capped soccer player in U.S. and world history. Speaking before an audience of more than 115 individuals, Ms. Pearce shared personal stories about the role dietary supplements play in athletic health and filling nutrient gaps in her and her family’s diets.
Shopping for Health webinar connects CRN and retail RDs
CRN hosted an hour-long free webinar, made available to 600+ retail dietitians and others in the retail industry as part of its partnership with Shopping for Health (SFH), following CRN’s participation in the SFH invitation-only event held in April in Nashville, Tennessee. The webinar, held in June, had over 90 participants representing 26 different national and regional supermarket chains such as Kroger, Jewel-Osco, and Whole Foods.
CRN’s Drs. Duffy MacKay and Andrea Wong educated attendees on the science behind some of the most popular and up-and-coming dietary supplements, provided tips to help shoppers navigate the supplement aisle and make informed purchasing decisions, and presented information on industry regulation, including the self-regulatory Supplement OWL. CRN looks forward to continued collaboration with the SFH network, serving as an educational partner for information on the supplement industry and its products. The complimentary webinar is available on demand at: shoppingforhealth.org/webinars.
New paper reaffirms safety of creatine, CRN defends consumer access to the supplement
Creatine supplementation is not only safe, but has been reported to have a number of benefits in populations ranging from infants to the elderly, according to a new paper titled “Safety and efficacy of creatine supplementation in exercise, sport, and medicine,” published last month in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN). CRN commissioned the paper as part of the association’s ongoing commitment to supporting sound scientific research of dietary supplements.
CRN will be sure the paper gets wide circulation among state legislators seeking to restrict the sale of creatine to ensure they are aware of its strong safety profile. Most recently, defending the supplement’s access and availability to all consumers, CRN penned a letter of opposition to the New York State Assembly regarding AO 4712, legislation that would prohibit retailers in New York from selling creatine-containing supplements to individuals under the age of 18. Another bill in Massachusetts, HB 1195, would restrict access to bodybuilding and weightloss products, including creatine.
CRN explores expansion to medical food
CRN announced in July it is exploring possible expansion of its mission to include the medical food industry, after a unanimous vote by CRN’s Board of Directors at its most recent meeting. Given the growth potential for medical food in the healthy nutrition space, CRN Board Chairman Jim Hyde noted that, “incorporating ‘medical food’ along with dietary supplements and functional food to our ‘responsible nutrition’ portfolio is forward-thinking and a logical next step for CRN to consider.”
As part of its exploratory process, CRN intends to convene the major players in the industry as part of a listening tour to determine where voids in medical food representation exist, if CRN can fill those needs, and what the regulatory and policy priorities of the medical food industry should be. CRN will host a workshop later this year on medical food and continue outreach to major providers of medical food to ascertain the needs of this fast growing sector of the industry.
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