The campaign of USADA against rogue manufacturers of dietary supplements was welcomed by 2 of the largest organizations of the supplements industry. The initiative of the anti-doping agency could lead to stricter laws and regulations for the industry. The Council for Responsible Nutrition and the Natural Products Association both issued a statement of support to the Supplement Safety Now program of USADA. Although the initiative will ask Congress to pass new laws for the supplement industry, the CRN and NPA still applauded the action of the agency.

“CRN commends USADA and the other supporting organizations for today stepping forward in a united front to find ways to get these illegal products removed from the marketplace. Where CRN can find common ground on the solutions, we look forward to potentially partnering with these organizations on ‘Supplement Safety Now.’ We further appreciate Mr. Tygart’s clarifications that marketers of anabolic steroids are already breaking the law and that these rogue companies undermine the credibility of the responsible dietary supplement industry, which strives to provide high-quality products to better consumers’ health and wellness.” said Steve Mister, the President and CEO of CRN.

The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) is a trade association representing dietary supplement manufacturers and ingredient suppliers. It was founded in 1973 with the objective of complying with federal and state regulations governing dietary supplements particularly in the areas of manufacturing, marketing, quality control and safety. The organization is composed of more than 70 manufacturers and suppliers.

The association still believes that existing laws, if properly imposed, are more than adequate to support the objectives of ensuring consumers’ access to safe supplement products. However, the enhancement of current laws as proposed in the Supplement Safety Now campaign are supported by CRN. Mister cited as an example the NDI notification process and rigid inspections of manufacturing facilities. “We agree with USADA that we need the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clarification on the New Dietary Ingredient (NDI) notification process, as well as FDA enforcement to punish companies who do not submit NDI notifications. These actions, along with rigorous inspections of manufacturing facilities under existing Good Manufacturing Practices, would help ensure that all new ingredients entering the market are safe, if used correctly,” he said.

CRN added that the best way to catch these offenders is to give the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and FDA more resources to enforce the laws already in place and to show these criminals that there are penalties to breaking the law.

The Executive Director and CEO of the Natural Products Association, John Gay, also released a statement regarding the USADA initiative. “We appreciate USADA and its partners for targeting these handful of ‘rogue’ companies that flout the law by marketing illegal steroids and other drugs as dietary supplements. There is much we can do together to help put them out of business,” he said.

It is estimated that there are more than 150 million American consumers of dietary supplements, vitamins, herbal products and sports supplements. The Natural Products Association is concerned on the safety of these consumers. Formulating new laws are not the only answer to this problem but the actual implementation. The NPA also share the same concern with the CRN. Gay said that the existing regulatory framework for dietary supplements already requires that new ingredients receive prior approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. “The law also requires that supplement manufacturers have good manufacturing practices in place at their facilities to ensure products meet standards for purity and quality and are free of contaminants,” said Gay.

The Natural Products Association is composed of more than 10,000 retailers, manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors of natural products, foods, health/beauty aids, and dietary supplements. It was established in 1936 with the mission of advocating for the rights of consumers to have access to products that will maintain and improve their health. They are also protecting the rights of retailers and suppliers.

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