The dietary supplement industry wants to bring down Durbin’s reform bills

Senate Majority Leader Whip Dick Durbin is already facing opposition to his bill to list all dietary supplements and ban Tianeptine and other dangerous products. It comes from the Alexandria, VA-based Alliance for Natural Health USA, which represents at least part of the $50 billion supplement industry.

The Alliance says it defeated Durbin in 2022 when he last tried to change the 30-year-old federal supplement law and has started a new rally to overturn Durbin’s 2024 legislation.

“Imagine a world where your favorite natural supplements and healthy foods are suddenly restricted or removed from store shelves, not because they are unsafe, but because some distant federal bureaucrat has decided that they pose an undefined ‘risk.’ the Alliance asks its members. “The proposed creation of a Federal Food Administration (FFA) in a bill sponsored by supplement opponent Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) threatens to deprive consumers of the freedom to make informed choices about their health. For those who cherish the freedom to choose natural and alternative health care solutions, Durbin’s proposal should be viewed as a threat to freedom of choice, autonomy and affordability and protested.”

Dietary supplements are only regulated to a limited extent under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994, signed into law by President Bill Clinton. Injured consumers can file an adverse event report with the FDA. This concerns more than 50,000 reports per year.

There is no place for consumers to go who are purchasing a supplement that works, especially for those where the effectiveness does not live up to the marketing claims.

The industry, as represented by the Alliance, sees the problem very differently; it says:

• One of the new Durbin bills is supported by a “Get the F Out of the FDA” campaign, which would create a Federal Food Administration (FFA), which would give exclusive, centralized, and unfettered control over foods and dietary supplements to the new administration to give. agency, potentially limiting consumer choice and innovation.
• The FFA’s vague criteria for classifying product risks – without defined metrics – could result in inconsistent and biased decisions. This uncertainty can lead to certain supplements and foods being excluded from the market based on subjective judgments rather than solid evidence.
• The creation of the FFA could lead to further bureaucratic expansion and regulatory capture, with powerful companies able to influence regulations to their advantage. This would likely stifle competition and limit access to innovative and natural health products.

The Alliance claims that the Federal Food Administration (FFA) threatens to deprive consumers of the freedom to make informed choices about their health.

Durbin has said that marketing of dietary supplements is a “basic function” for the FDA and would result in a transparent supplement market. The FDA began developing the basic dossier for dietary supplement reporting in April, but its legal and regulatory authority is limited.

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