Supplements Set to Become Illegal in 2012 under FDA

[Dover]

The FDA has issued new rules that, if enacted, will enable them to ban many of the supplements you are now taking.

Think I’m exaggerating? Then please listen to the full story …

Back in the early 1990s, the FDA tried to make many supplements illegal. Consumers were so alarmed by the FDA’s bullying that they staged a massive revolt. The result was that Congress passed the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA). That law protected supplements from the FDA unless the FDA could prove a supplement wasn’t safe.

There was, however, a loophole in the 1994 law. The FDA was given the authority to regulate new ingredients introduced after October 15, 1994.

So what happened? Nothing at first. For 17 years, the FDA took no action, gave no guidance, and launched no enforcement of these “New Dietary Ingredients.”

And that’s been a good thing. Because for 17 years, the dietary supplement industry has enjoyed tremendous innovation. These innovations have allowed us to extract and concentrate the most effective natural ingredients. As a result, millions of consumers have benefitted. They’ve protected their hearts and arteries … found relief from their joint pain … boosted their memory … and more.

cont'd

http://foodfreedom.wordpress.com/2011/10/30/supplements-set-to-become-illegal-in-2012-under-fda/

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I'm reposting this here. It was originally posted in a GD thread by Stellanoir

[Zoeisright]

1. Supplements need to be regulated.

What you get in the bottle is more often than not NOT what is on the label.

Proof:

The Food and Drug Administration has not made full use of even the meager authority granted it by the industry-friendly 1994 Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA).

As a result, the supplement marketplace is not as safe as it should be.

We have identified a dozen supplement ingredients that we think consumers should avoid because of health risks, including cardiovascular, liver, and kidney problems. We found products with those ingredients readily available in stores and online.
Because of inadequate quality control and inspection, supplements contaminated with heavy metals, pesticides, or prescription drugs have been sold to unsuspecting consumers. And FDA rules covering manufacturing quality don't apply to the companies that supply herbs, vitamins, and other raw ingredients.
China, which has repeatedly been caught exporting contaminated products, is a major supplier of raw supplement ingredients. The FDA has yet to inspect a single factory there.


http://www.consumerreports.org/health/natural-health/dietary-supplements/overview/index.htm

[TheWraith]

2. Only if your "supplements" are faked up bullshit by scam artists.

Which, unfortunately, most supplements are.

[Warpy]

3. Uh, active ingredients, extracted, purified and concentrated

are drugs. See for example foxglove to digitalis to digoxin. Or poppies to opium to morphine.

Personally, I'd love to see the supplement industry have to develop a few standards. While they can still sell plants as plants and as foodstuffs, the way they're doing so now, I'd love to know the weeds inside that capsule are really the weeds listed on the bottle, something that hasn't always been the case thus far.

Herbs and vitamins will never be banned, outright, neither will they ever be by prescription unless they have been refined and concentrated to potentially dangerous levels. However, it would be a nice idea to end some of the fraud that now exists in the supplement industry, whether or not you believe it.

[Ian David]

4. This bullshit again?

http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/organic.asp

[laconicsax]

5. The sky is always falling for some people.

[cleanhippie]

6. Regulating Big Supplement is a good thing. Too many scam happening already.

[EvolveOrConvolve]

7. Um, no they aren't

The alarmist headline doesn't match the reality of the situation.

[Codeine]

8. Bullshit. As usual. nt