FDA Proposal Threatens to Eliminate Access to Affordable Dietary Supplements

Senator Richard Durbin (D-Illinois) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have proposed new draft guidance for the dietary supplement industry. This act could threaten consumers’ right to access affordable, high-quality and safe dietary supplements. Board Certified Clinical Nutritionist, Byron J. Richards encourages consumers to take action now to protect their access to nutritional supplements.

The FDA’s new draft guidance redefines the 1994 Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) and attempts to do the following: 1) remarket high-quality dietary supplements as prescription drugs, 2) limit access to high-quality dietary supplements and 3) increase costs for high-quality dietary supplements.

In therapeutic doses, DHA omega-3 fish oil, for example, has been proven to lower triglyceride levels. The pharmaceutical industry realizes dietary supplements can deliver substantial results—and without drugs’ side effects. DHA is one of the first nutrients which the FDA plans to control. In the case of DHA, pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, developed a prescription drug version of DHA fish oil which sells for approximately $189 per one-month supply. In the competitive dietary supplement marketplace, however, the equivalent, therapeutic amount of superior molecularly-distilled DHA sells for $35 per one-month supply.

Richards, founder of Wellness Resources, commented on the severity of the situation. "It is not just DHA, curcumin and resveratrol that are designed for the pharmaceutical industry to adopt hundreds of other nutrients and herbs. The unfortunate reality is that if the FDA is allowed to implement its strategy, thousands of products are currently available On the market are likely to be "misfired drugs" and forced out of the market under the FDA's campaign to wipe out an industry and I, gain even more power and profit."

The FDA consumer comment period for this new dietary supplement draft guidance ends October 1, 2011. Visit the TAKE ACTION page for access to affordable, effective dietary supplements. For more information, read Byron J. Richards’ articles, “Senator Durbin & the FDA Viciously Attack Dietary Supplements” and “The FDA’s Scheme to Reclassify Nutrients as Drugs.”