Washington, D.C., October 14, 2015—In response to a new study, “Emergency Department Visits for Adverse Events Related to Dietary Supplements,” published online today in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), the leading trade association for the dietary supplement and functional food industry, issued the following statement:
Statement by Duffy MacKay, N.D., senior vice president, scientific and regulatory affairs, CRN:
“The results of this study reinforce that dietary supplements are safe products, particularly when put into context with the number of people—over 150 million Americans—who take dietary supplements every year. To put this projected number of 23,000 annual emergency room (ER) visits into context, we estimate that far less than one tenth of one percent of dietary supplement users experience an emergency room visit annually. That percentage becomes even smaller when you eliminate the products that are not dietary supplements and exclude the ER visits that resulted from eye drops, ear drops, and other OTC and non-dietary supplement products inaccurately included by the researchers to make their projections for dietary supplements.
However, we do appreciate the elements of this study that present reasonable takeaways for the industry, and are pleased to confirm that companies are already responding to many of these suggestions made by the study authors. For example, when it comes to risk of choking, there have been great innovations made to assist consumers who have trouble swallowing capsules and tablets. Adult supplement users have many options, including liquids, gummies, melts or effervescent powders. Additionally, during the ten year span analyzed in this study, the responsible industry lobbied for and helped to enact key dietary supplement legislation and regulation to improve consumer safety. These include the Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2004, the Adverse Event Reporting law of 2006, Good Manufacturing Practices in 2007, and the Designer Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2014.
Consumer safety is a top priority for the dietary supplement industry. We recommend that supplement users store dietary supplement products in safe places, out of a child’s reach; discard supplements after the expiration date; and read and follow label instructions. In addition, we recommend consumers talk with their doctor or pediatrician about their family’s supplement use.”
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 @wannabewell and on Facebook.