Posted by stan_the_man70 on February 23, 2016, at 3:24:59
In reply to FrontLine - Supplements and Safety - worth watchin, posted by stan_the_man70 on February 23, 2016, at 3:16:02
----------------------quote reference
http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/1739416-155/dietary-hatch-products-sen-supplements-fda
----------------------end quoteOp-ed: 20 years later, dietary supplement industry owes much to Sen. Hatch
By Loren Israelsen
First Published Oct 25 2014 07:42AM
Last Updated Oct 25 2014 07:42 amUtah is home to more than 100 dietary supplement companies, world leaders in manufacturing safe, high-quality products that enhance the health of over 150 million Americans. These companies form the vibrant base of an annual economy unsurpassed in our state. Indeed, today Utah is widely recognized as the global center for dietary supplement manufacturing.
The strength of that durable economic engine is due largely to the efforts of one man, Sen. Orrin G. Hatch. Time and again, Sen. Hatch has fought a nonsensical federal bureaucracy, building coalitions and working tirelessly for over two decades to nurture this once-fledgling industry, allowing health-conscious consumers to continue to have access to the range of vitamins, minerals, herbs, amino acids, probiotics and fish oils they seek.
We couldn't always take these freedoms for granted.
For years and yearseven decadesthe Food and Drug Administration's policies against dietary supplements were legend.
Here are but a few examples: At one point, FDA tried limit consumer access to vitamins and minerals that could be legally sold as dietary supplements. Under FDA's theory, for example, 100 mg of vitamin C could not be sold without a prescription.
Later, FDA tried to remove black currant oil from the market by saying it was an "unapproved food additive." Here was the agency's logic: the capsule surrounding the oil was the food, and the currant oil was the additive! Two federal appeals courts had to reject FDA's overreach; one court called it "nonsensical;" the other called it "Alice in Wonderland." And it was.
So, in utter frustration, we turned to Sen. Hatch, a recognized congressional leader in healthcare and a serious legislator with a reputation for protecting American freedoms.
Thus began the multi year legislative battle Sen. Hatch led to rewrite the rules governing dietary supplements. We didn't want to be "unregulated." We just wanted rational rules by which to operate.
Hatch quickly enlisted congressional allies, such as New Mexico Rep. Bill Richardson, and Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin, both staunch Democrats, who otherwise were considered defenders of FDA.
He embarked on a three-year effort, bringing together a wide coalition, including public health experts, consumer groups, industry leaders and health food stores.
Under the Utah senator's firm hand, the initiative's support grew month by month. Ultimately, more than two-thirds of the Senate and over half of the House of Representatives cosponsored the Hatch-Harkin-Richardson bill, the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994. It was passed without dissenting vote on the last day of Congress in 1994 and signed into law by President Bill Clinton shortly thereafter.
DSHEA, as it is called, laid out a regulatory plan. But it is balanced. It codified that dietary supplements are regulated as foodsnot drugs and not food additives. It gave FDA new powers to take action against unsafe products. Now, all manufacturers must adhere to specific dietary supplement good manufacturing practices written by FDA, setting the standard for high-quality products in the marketplace. DSHEA also improved consumer access to truthful and non-misleading information about supplement products, and it established a new program to encourage research into supplements for consumers led by the National Institutes of Health.
This weekend marks 20 years since DSHEA was enacted. During these intervening years, the market has grown, and consumer choice of safe and affordable products has multiplied many times over.
Today, dietary supplements are a $7 billion industry in Utah, providing us with a host of the beneficial products we seek and forming what many consider the centerpiece of our state's growing economy.
And for that 20-year legacy, Utahns can thank Sen. Orrin G. Hatch.
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Loren Israelsen is president of the United Natural Products Alliance, based in Salt Lake City, and is an internationally recognized expert on dietary supplements.
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