U.S. issues new standards for dietary supplements (but will they be enough?)
Here’s what is going out on just about every major newswire this morning:
Makers of vitamins, herbs and other dietary supplements taken by millions of Americans must meet new government standards to show the products are free of contamination and contain exactly what the label says, U.S. health officials said on Friday.
The full article of this particular version can be found here.
This is good news for consumers, who have sometimes had to contend with bogus ingredients from knock-off supplement producers.
But these regulations don’t come into effect until 2010, and the dietary supplement producers
“…will have significant latitude to determine what quality control measures are appropriate, and limited resources will limit FDA’s ability to follow up on complaints,”
according to Sen. Richard Durbin, an Illinois Democrat.
Furthermore, these regulations still will not ensure that the supplements are either safe or effective. And as other websites are starting to point out, the FDA will only be investigating high-risk companies, and that only every five-to-ten years.
So will it help? Perhaps. At least it is a beginning point for more stringent assurances for consumers.