Two interesting items from the latest NNFA Supplement email worth noting:

NNFA Testifies Regarding Health Claims

NNFA Executive Director and CEO David Seckman testified that health claims on product labels can benefit both consumers and industry at a November 16, 2005 public meeting in Washington, D.C. The all-day meeting included more than 20 testimonies and several presentations on consumer perceptions and understanding of health claims. Seckman
said that despite the benefits such claims could provide, manufacturers report that current FDA standards for health claim language is cumbersome and even conflicting. As a result,
consumers are either being confused by the wordy claims or are not being provided with health claim information because manufacturers forego them. He emphasized finally that consumer comprehension is linked to an educational component and FDA must consider dedicating resources to that aspect of determining health claim language. The testimony can be read at www.nnfa.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ta_NNFAonRecord

NNFA Releases Joint Statement with Other Industry Organizations
on Steroids

Last week, NNFA, the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA), and the Utah Natural Products Alliance (UNPA) released a joint statement in response to an announcement by Major League Baseball regarding the sport's new, tougher policies on steroid usage. In the statement, the organizations urged athletes who allege that positive tests for steroids are due to contaminated supplements to release the names of the purportedly injurious products and the analytical results on which their allegations are based. The industry contended that products containing steroids, even if they are labeled as "dietary supplements," are illegal drugs that are masquerading as legitimate supplements in the face of inadequate enforcement.
The statement can be read online at www.nnfa.org/site/PageServer?pagename=pc_2005PR