CRN Supports FDA Weight Loss Recall

In response to the FDA’s expansion of a nationwide recall of 69 tainted weight loss products that contain undisclosed ingredients, Steve Mister, president of the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN; Washington, DC), issued the following statement on January 9:

“We applaud FDA’s efforts to protect consumers from tainted weight loss products that contain active, undeclared ingredients. It is unfortunate that some of these products have been marketed as dietary supplements. Under the law, what is in the dietary supplement bottle should be listed on the label and products that break the law have no business being on store shelves. CRN supports the Agency’s decision to demand removal of these adulterated products from the market.

It is particularly concerning that some of these weight loss products illegally contain pharmaceutical drugs, which can be especially dangerous and put consumers at risk. Regardless of how it is marketed, if a weight loss product contains a drug ingredient, it is a drug under federal law.

The new good manufacturing practices (GMPs) specific to dietary supplements, published in 2007, provide even more quality assurance throughout the entire manufacturing process to reduce the risk of accidental adulteration and cross-contamination, so that incidences like this are rare.

The majority of companies in the dietary supplement industry abide by the law and work hard to provide the more than 150 million Americans who take vitamins and other dietary supplements with safe, high quality, and beneficial products. We encourage consumers to be savvy when it comes to their supplements-always buy from reputable companies that you know and trust.”