Natural Products Foundation Press Contact: 

Tracy Taylor, Executive Director
Natural Products Foundation
1773 T St. NW
Washington, DC  20009
(202) 204-4723
(202) 223-0250 - Fax

Natural Products Foundation Urges full Enforcement of the Law Regarding False Advertising for Dietary Supplements
Foundation serves as educational resource to both industry and consumers

WASHINGTON, D.C., June 19, 2008 – The Natural Products Foundation today issued the following statement regarding recent actions by the Food and Drug Administration in cracking down on bogus cancer cure claims. This statement is from Tracy Taylor, executive director of the foundation.

“While I can’t comment on a particular case, I can say that we’ve always urged full enforcement of the law in regard to dietary supplements and other natural products. So if someone is making illegal claims, the FDA or the FTC needs to take action and the Natural Products Foundation is in full support.

“I think it’s important to note from a broader perspective that the fact the FDA, or the FTC, for that matter, can exercise enforcement power is further evidence that the law – the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act – is working.

“One of the chief purposes of the foundation is to act as a resource for industry members and others regarding truth in advertising. Our goal is to make sure that these claims never get into print or on the Internet in the first place. We have an online resource center on the foundation Web site [www.naturalproductsfoundation.org] and will be hosting educational programs at upcoming trade shows for industry members.

“A very critical component of the foundation’s efforts is in regard to getting truthful and non-misleading information into the hands of consumers. Now that the Dietary Supplement Education Alliance has become part of the foundation, the Dietary Supplement Information Bureau [www.supplementinfo.org] is a great source for science-based information on dietary supplements.

“The foundation also allows consumers and others to register complaints about dietary supplement advertising that crosses the legal line. If a complaint is found to have merit by our legal review panel, we will take action, including potentially bringing the complaint to the appropriate regulatory. agency.”

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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.

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Natural Products Foundation Launches Self-Regulatory Initiatives
Programs Target Dietary Supplement Finished Product Testing, Advertising

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (July 21, 2007): In its constant effort to provide the highest quality products and keep consumer confidence high, the Natural Products Foundation today announced two new programs that will subject finished products to random testing and prevent and clean-up false advertising.  The initiatives, outlined in more detail below, were announced at Natural MarketPlace 2007, the Natural Products Association's annual industry trade show and convention.

"Efforts like these help our industry maintain its strong record of quality, safety, and efficacy, which consumers have come to expect.  Our industry is made up of people who want to help other people get and stay healthy, and product integrity and truth in advertising are two important ways to help achieve that goal," said Tracy Taylor, executive director of the Natural Products Foundation.

Finished-Product Testing Program

Under this program, roughly 15 of the most popular consumer products -- including vitamins and minerals, nutrition bars and sports beverages -- will be randomly purchased from retail stores each month.

The products will be then sent to independent labs for testing, according to the label claim and using the most scientifically relevant standards.  Test results will be peer-reviewed by industry scientific experts.  All results will be published on the foundation web site.  The program is completely transparent. Results of the first product tests will be published in the fall of 2007.

"What's on the label is what should be in the product, nothing more, nothing less.  This program will not only boost consumer confidence, it will help discourage bad actors from cutting corners since the results will be made public," said Taylor.  Taylor also emphasized that the program's transparency allows for experts to confer on methods and standards while making comprehensive information available to consumers. Although the program is just being launched, it already has three sponsors: Bergstrom Nutrition, NOW Foods and Vitamin Shoppe.

Truth in Advertising Program

This program seeks to enforce truth in advertising on three tracks:  education about existing laws and regulations, a new industry pledge, and a hotline where anybody can report questionable claims.

First is learning and developing a working knowledge of existing laws and regulations, which are complex and can be confusing and unclear.  Foundation officials will work with manufacturers, retailers, advertisers, publishers or others involved with the use, distribution or sale of natural products to educate them on the details of advertising requirements.

Second is a new industry pledge (text below), which manufacturers, retailers, advertisers or others involved with the use, distribution or sale of natural products will review and sign.

Dietary Supplement Truth-in-Advertising Pledge

We pledge to ensure that consumers get accurate information about legally marketed dietary supplements so that they can make informed decisions in promoting and maintaining their health. In that regard we pledge that any advertisement or marketing materials that we create, publish, or otherwise provide or disseminate will, to the best of our knowledge, be truthful, not misleading and substantiated under the requirements of both the Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) as amended by Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) and the Federal Trade Commission Act :

• Not making claims, either expressly or implied, that are not accurate and fail to adequately disclose qualifying information
• Verifying that there is adequate substantiation for claims being made, including the level of support, type and quality of evidence presented, and relevance of the evidence to the claim
• Not making claims through testimonials or expert endorsements that cannot be substantiated
• Ensuring that claims based on traditional use have the appropriate substantiation or clearly communicate that the sole basis for the claim is its history of use for a particular purpose
• Ensuring that claims are appropriate for dietary supplements and do not cause the product advertised to be a "drug" under the FDCA.
• Using the two-part disclaimer as stipulated by the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) of 1994 when appropriate
• Strictly adhering to the use of "third party literature" as defined by DSHEA  

Finally, Natural Products Foundation will establish a reporting web page where consumers, competitors, retailers or any member of the public can report any advertising claim they believe to be fraudulent, misleading, or untruthful.  Foundation officials will review complaints and take appropriate and necessary action.  Action can include anything from contacting the entity responsible for the questionable claim, to referral to the Federal Trade Commission for investigation. 

"False advertising by just one bad actor can damage the industry's good image and reputation, which is not fair.  We want to make sure everyone plays by the rules, and this new program will help to do that," said Taylor.

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FDA Issues Health Claims Draft Guidance

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is reviewing its scientific evidence for significant scientific agreement (SSA) and qualified health claims. The draft guidance, entitled "Guidance for industry: evidence-based review system for the scientific evaluation of health claims" is open for comment. The purpose of the document, according to the federal agency, is to set out the FDA's current thinking on the process for evaluating scientific evidence for a health claim and credible scientific evidence to support a qualified health claim. "The draft guidance, when finalized, will represent the agency's current thinking on the scientific review process for SSA and qualified health claims," stated the agency. As is the case with guidances, it does not create or confer any rights for or on any person and does not operate to bind FDA or the public. The draft guidance is available for review on the FDA's Web site at http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/hclmgui5.html. Comments and suggestions regarding this draft document should be submitted within 60 days of publication in the Federal Register of the notice announcing the availability of the draft guidance.