Dietary Supplements Health and Education Act

Hearing Brings Tricky Industry Issues Forward

The hearing was prompted by Congressional concerns that the FDA was not adhering to the intent of DSHEA in its proposed structure/function regulations, which includes a troubling definition of disease, according to Elizabeth Clay, a staff member for committee chair Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind.

"We hope following this hearing that the structure/function proposal will be withdrawn and redrafted," Clay said. Testifying were some names familiar to the natural products industry, including Annette Dickinson from the Council for Responsible Nutrition, attorney Scott Bass and Rob McCaleb from the Herb Research Foundation.

Dickinson recommended that the FDA create a dietary supplement advisory committee to address what she said was a lack of expertise within the agency. Two other prominent names joined those testifying: Jane Henney, commissioner of the FDA, and Raquel Welch, who told the committee about her use of supplements for the past 25 years. She urged Congress to ensure that consumers could have continued access to supplements.

In related testimony, the biggest fight was between the Center for Science in the Public Interest and several other industry members. Advocates from the center claimed that rules on functional foods were too loose, and that the FDA should crack down on what it said were unscrupulous health claims. The Hain Food Group countered that it's line of "Kitchen Prescription" soups--which contain herbal ingredients such as St. John's wort--do not make health claims. "There is a consumer group that desires to consume St. John's wort," said Ellen Deutsch, a Hain vice president. "We are making it available in a good-tasting product."

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