Dangerous dietary supplements need greater scrutiny and better labels
New bill in Congress would require more information on supplement labels and provide the FDA with greater authority
Published: August 2013
Millions of Americans take dietary supplements such as multivitamins, minerals, and herbs to improve their health. While many supplements may be safe and effective, some contain ingredients that pose significant dangers to consumers.
In our September 2012 special report, "10 Surprising Dangers of Vitamins and Supplements," we detailed the risks associated with certain dangerous dietary supplements, such as products marketed for bodybuilding, sexual enhancement, and weight loss that were spiked with prescription drugs or synthetic steroids. USA Today recently reported on supplements that contained pesticides and banned chemicals.
Current law makes it difficult for the government to remove unsafe supplements from the marketplace. The Food and Drug Administration has only limited authority over supplements, and it doesn’t evaluate them for safety or effectiveness before they go on sale. Many supplement labels do not warn about potential dangers, so customers may not know the risks until they get terribly sick, or worse.
Consumers Union, the policy and advocacy arm of Consumer Reports, firmly believes we need to strengthen the FDA’s authority over supplements and get more information into the hands of consumers.
A new bill in Congress sponsored by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) would help consumers tell the difference between dietary supplements that are safe and those that have potentially serious side effects or drug interactions.
The Durbin-Blumenthal Dietary Supplement Labeling Act would require more information on product labels, give more authority to the FDA to require manufacturers to register their products and ingredients and provide evidence of any health benefit claims. It would also crack down on drinks and foods that are marketed as dietary supplements as a way to avoid FDA oversight.
“Though many dietary supplements available today are safe, we can’t ignore the growing evidence that there are some in the industry that are taking advantage of the system we have in place to make money selling products they know are harmful,” Durbin said. “Regulation of supplements can be improved to protect public health and it starts with making more information available to consumers and the FDA.”
Blumenthal added, “Consumers don’t know some dietary supplements are unsafe until they’re in the hospital, and by that time it’s too late. This commonsense, pro-consumer proposal will no doubt encounter a plethora of industry push back, but history and science are on our side.”
This bill would go a long way toward ensuring that supplement makers are putting safer products on the shelves, with better warning labels that help you make informed choices.
AI
