Dietary supplements industry wants to bring down Durbin reform bills

Senate Majority Leader Whip Dick Durbin is already getting opposition to his bills to list all dietary supplements and ban Tianeptine and other dangerous products. It comes from the Alexandria, VA-based Alliance for Natural Health USA, representing at least some of the $50 billion supplements industry.

The Alliance says it beat Durbin in 2022 when he last attempted changes to the 30-year-old federal supplements law and has started a new rally to bring down  Durbin’s 2024 legislation.

“Imagine a world where your favorite natural supplements and health foods are suddenly restricted or removed from store shelves, not because they’re unsafe, but because a distant federal bureaucrat decided they pose an undefined “risk.” the Alliance asks its members. “The proposed creation of a Federal Food Administration (FFA) in a bill sponsored by supplement opponent Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), threatens to strip consumers of the freedom to make informed choices about their health. For those who cherish the freedom to choose natural and alternative health solutions, Durbin’s proposal should be seen as a threat to choice, autonomy, and affordability and must be opposed.”

Dietary supplements are only lightly regulated under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994, signed by President Bill Clinton. Harmed consumers can file an adverse event report with the FDA.  Those reports exceed 50,000 a year.

There’s no place to go for consumers who purchase a supplement that does work, especially for those where effectiveness does not meet up with marketing claims.

The industry, as represented by the Alliance, sees the problem much differently; it says:

• One of the new Durbin bills is supported by a “Get the F Out of the FDA” campaign, which would create a Federal Food Administration (FFA), which would give exclusive, centralized, and unbridled control over foods and dietary supplements to the new agency, potentially limiting consumer choice and innovation.
• The FFA’s vague criteria for classifying product risk — without defined metrics — could result in inconsistent and biased decisions. This uncertainty may lead to excluding certain supplements and foods from the market based on subjective judgments rather than solid evidence.
• Establishing the FFA could lead to further bureaucratic expansion and regulatory capture, where powerful corporations influence regulations to their advantage. This would likely stifle competition and limit access to innovative and natural health products.

The Alliance claims the  Federal Food Administration (FFA) threatens to strip consumers of the freedom to make informed choices about their health.

Durbin has said that listing dietary supplements on the market is a “basic function” for the FDA and would result in a transparent supplement market. The FDA began drafting the Dietary Ingredient Notification Master File for Dietary Supplements in April, but its statutory and regulatory authority is thin. 

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