By El Richard, President of NOW® Foods

While on vacation in Orlando, I stopped at some of the health stores there. Almost all stores were concerned about the negative press about our industry. The media keeps telling the public that dietary supplements are unsafe and that the FDA lacks the power to protect the public. Most in the natural supplement industry know that this is not correct, but we want consumers everywhere to know this is far from the truth.

Please help us spread truthful information about natural supplements and natural foods. If our industry can cooperate like we did in combating the restrictive legislation before DSHEA, the truth will prevail.

Here is what you can do to help:

1. Inform yourself in advance of the issues being raised in the media and have letters ready to send when they come up.

2. Watch the media in your own area. If statements are made, try to get an accurate account of what was said if it was radio or TV. Also save newspaper and magazine articles.

3. Respond quickly and authoritatively to false information using quotes from neutral sources whenever possible.

4. Contact us and other retailers in your area to gain more support. You can reach our truth advocate, Neil Levin at: neil.levin@nowfoods.com or by fax at 630-942-8094.

5. Use e-mail whenever possible. It is a very efficient way to send messages. If you don’t have e-mail in your store, you can use home e-mail. If you can get the e-mail addresses of a substantial number of your customers, you can inform them about the false information at almost no cost and immediately. Ask them to contact the media also.

6. Make truthful information available in your store about natural health issues. Your customers are going to hear the other side again and again. Prepare them with the truth before issues come up. Send your information out in mailings to your customers also.

Dennis Gronek, one of the leading FDA attorneys has this to say about the present safeguards in the FDA regulations:

"The Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act ("FDC Act") provides the FDA with more than ample powers to assure that dietary supplements are safe and properly manufactured and that claims made for such products are truthful, accurate and not misleading. The passage of DSHEA did not eliminate or weaken this legal authority".

Under the adulteration provisions of the FDC Act, the FDA may institute seizure actions, injunction proceedings or criminal cases against any person or company that manufacturers or distributes a dietary supplement that: Bears or contains any poisonous or deleterious substance which may render it injurious to health; has been subjected to economic adulteration; is a dietary supplement or contains a dietary ingredient that presents a significant or unreasonable risk of illness or injury; is a dietary supplement which there is inadequate information to provide reasonable assurance that such ingredient does not present a significant or unreasonable risk of illness or injury; is a dietary supplement or dietary ingredient with the FDA declares poses a imminent hazard to public health or safety. (Sections 301 and 402 of the FDC Act).

"Any claim that a product is intended to be used in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of disease continues to convert such product into a "drug" under the Act. Drugs that are not generally recognized as safe and effective by qualified experts for their intended use are "new drugs," and the FDA before their introduction into the marketplace, must approve new drugs".

Under the misbranding provisions of the FDC Act any claim in food or dietary supplement labeling that is false or misleading in any particular will render such product misbranded and in violation of the Act (Section 403). Also, pursuant to Section 403(r)(6) of the FDC Act all structure/function claims must be supported by adequate substantiation to establish that such claims are not false or misleading.

"When a violation of the FDC Act is found to exist, the FDA may seize and destroy volatile goods, obtain a court order to prevent their current and future sale, or initiate criminal proceedings. Successfully prosecuted criminals face jail."

We at NOW Foods are committed to helping to correct misleading information and are using the efforts of a 20-year industry veteran, Neil Levin, as a truth advocate. Neil is developing responses to issues that are likely to arise.

We need your help to win this fight against false information. Hopefully customers, new customers, and competitors can cooperate to place the truth before the public.

Let's get together and help the truth prevail.

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