Dietary Supplement Education Alliance Merges into Natural Products Foundation - Key DSEA programs to continue under foundation umbrella

WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 18, 2008; 12 noon EDT) ? In a move that will strengthen efforts to focus the nation?s attention on the benefits provided by dietary supplements and other natural products, the Natural Products Foundation (NPF) announced today that the Dietary Supplement Education Alliance (DSEA) has become part of the? foundation.

?DSEA?s Dietary Supplement Information Bureau (DSIB) and consumer and media outreach programs are highly regarded and will fit perfectly with the mission of the foundation, which is to enhance and promote the integrity of natural products through quality, science and education,? said Randy Dennin, chairman of the Natural Products Foundation. ?This merger allows us to not only strengthen and expand the foundation?s educational scope, it provides an established infrastructure that can be used to grow initiatives begun and planned by DSEA.?

As part of the affiliation and in order to take advantage of the Natural Products
Foundation?s tax-exempt status, DSEA was dissolved as a corporate entity. To ensure that the programs DSEA contributors have supported over the years are continued and the organization?s expertise tapped, Elliott Balbert, DSEA?s founder and most recent president, along with past-president Jon Benninger, have joined the foundation?s board of directors. Long-time DSEA staffer Deb Knowles has also joined the foundation team.

?The Natural Products Foundation is an amazing group of industry stakeholders.? said Balbert, who founded DSEA in 2001. ?Given the apparent collaboration of our efforts, it made sense for both groups to establish a formal affiliation, which we are most excited to announce to you today. The quality and scope of the foundation?s programs, especially with the addition of the programs DSEA pioneered, are well worth the continued support of our industry.?

The Natural Products Foundation is organized exclusively to stimulate and support research, education and knowledge regarding dietary supplements, nutritional? foods, and related products, with the overall objective of advancing the knowledge of the public, and thereby, improving the public health.