Who ensures the safety of dietary supplements?

Dietary supplements include any products taken by mouth that contain a “dietary ingredient” intended to supplement the diet. This would include vitamins, minerals, herbs, botanicals, amino acids and concentrates, metabolites, constituents, and extracts of these substances. Dietary supplements are not classified or considered to be drugs.

By law, manufacturers are responsible for ensuring their supplements are safe before they are marketed. Unlike drug products, dietary supplements are not reviewed by the government before being made available to the consumer.

On January 04, 2011, President Obama signed the Food Safety Modernization Act into law.

This measure imposes significant changes in our food safety laws and mandates preventive measures by farmers, manufacturers and distributors, providing increased inspections. The law also provides the FDA with greater authority to regulate the industry. An important part of the law allows the FDA to recognize accredited third party inspection and certification programs for imported products, which has presented a challenge for our food safety authorities in the USDA and FDA.

Is there a National Standard for dietary supplements?

Yes. NSF International, one of several independent organizations, has developed a national standard, NSF/ANSI Standard 173. Companies that manufacture and distribute dietary supplements can participate in an independent testing and verification program, which is based on this standard. This program protects consumers by testing for contaminants and then verifies that what’s stated on the label is what’s actually in the bottle.

Federal law requires labels on dietary supplement products contain the following information:

• Statement of identity


• Net quantity of contents


• Directions for use


• Supplement Facts Panel, listing serving size, amount, and active ingredient


• Other ingredients in descending order of predominance


• Name and place of business of manufacturer, packer, or distributor

Dietary supplements may not be totally risk free, under all circumstances. Some supplements are marketed without submitting to independent testing. It is important to take the time to make sure there is a GMP, QAI, USDA, NSF, USP or CL quality certified seal on the bottle of product, you are buying.

Rick Mayer can be found at Always Natural