March 13, 2003

The Food and Drug Administration proposed new regulations last week requiring current good manufacturing practices (CGMP) in the manufacturing, packing and holding of dietary supplements in an effort to ensure that supplements contain exactly what the manufacturer claims they contain. Recent studies have shown that dietary supplements may be contaminated with dangerous levels of impurities such as lead, pesticides, glass or bacteria. Furthermore, some supplements have been shown to contain widely fluctuating levels of active ingredients. Under the CGMP proposal, the evaluation of the identity, purity, strength and composition of dietary ingredients and supplements would be a responsibility of manufacturers to avoid having their products labeled as adulterated.

(Click here for complete FDA press release.)