Pew Urges Lawmakers To Enhance FDA’s Information on Supplements

Pew Urges Lawmakers To Enhance FDA’s Information on Supplements

Most Americans take supplements for dietary and other purposes. However, the Food and Drug Administration currently has no mechanism to know what supplement products are on the market. In a Sept. 24 letter to two Senate and two House of Representatives committees, The Pew Charitable Trusts recommended that any supplement-related legislation considered by lawmakers establish a requirement for manufacturers to provide basic data on their products to FDA.

The product names, ingredients, and labels submitted to FDA under a listing requirement would allow the agency to effectively alert consumers about supplements that may be contaminated or contain unsafe ingredients. If publicly available, listing information would also allow consumers and retailers to make more informed decisions about the supplements they purchase.

America’s Overdose Crisis
America’s Overdose Crisis

America’s Overdose Crisis

Sign up for our five-email course explaining the overdose crisis in America, the state of treatment access, and ways to improve care

Sign up
Quick View

America’s Overdose Crisis

Sign up for our five-email course explaining the overdose crisis in America, the state of treatment access, and ways to improve care

Sign up
Getty Images
Getty Images
Article

Most Supplement Users Back Enhanced FDA Oversight of These Products

Quick View
Article

Most Supplement Users Back Enhanced FDA Oversight of These Products

A new survey finds that most American adults believe the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should do more to ensure the safety of supplements, whose ingredients range from vitamins and plant extracts to probiotics, hormones, and amino acids.

Composite image of modern city network communication concept

Learn the Basics of Broadband from Our Limited Series

Sign up for our four-week email course on Broadband Basics

Quick View

How does broadband internet reach our homes, phones, and tablets? What kind of infrastructure connects us all together? What are the major barriers to broadband access for American communities?

What Is Antibiotic Resistance—and How Can We Fight It?

Sign up for our four-week email series The Race Against Resistance.

Quick View

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria, also known as “superbugs,” are a major threat to modern medicine. But how does resistance work, and what can we do to slow the spread? Read personal stories, expert accounts, and more for the answers to those questions in our four-week email series: Slowing Superbugs.