Personal Injury Law

The U.S. is now closer to stricter oversight of dietary supplements

Chicago product liability attorneys at Levin & Perconti have blogged a lot about the lack of government regulation of dietary supplements. Now, thanks to an agreement among United States Senators to include guidelines in a food safety bill, stricter government oversight of dietary supplements is within touch. Four areas of common ground were outlined in a letter sent by chairs of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. The letter talked about incorporating the areas of agreement into the Food and Drug Administration (?FDA?) Food Safety Modernization Bill.

The provisions include: (1) all dietary supplement manufacturing, processing, and holding facilities to register with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, (2) the FDA having the authority to issue a mandatory product recall order if a dietary supplement is adulterated or misbranded or the use of such supplement could cause serious adverse health consequences such as death, (3) the FDA commissioner to publish guidelines on the new dietary ingredients as soon as possible, and (4) mandate that the FDA notify the Drug Enforcement Administration (?DEA?) when a new product contains a synthetic anabolic steroid.

According to Senator McCain, the bill would protect professional and Olympic athletes along with casual sports participants who use supplements. Pro sports leagues have supported the bill. Athletes in the past have blamed positive drug tests on substances that turn up in dietary supplements even though they are not listed as ingredients on the label.

Follow the link to read more about the dietary supplement regulation.

Full post as published by Illinois Injury Lawyer Blog on April 27, 2010 (boomark / email).