Guest guest Posted May 1, 2007 Report Share Posted May 1, 2007 Hello - I received an urgent e-mail yesterday afternoon from the Allergy Research Group supplement manufacturers regarding a bill put forth by Senator Kennedy (S. 1082) yesterday that will allegedly " gut " DSHEA and give the FDA much broader power than it has now. In light of the recent threads regarding the FDA Draft Guidance on CAM products - and the fact that that entire current issue turned out to be a tempest in a teapot - I was hesitant to share this initially. Statements within the e-mail - which the authors had requested be forwarded to all intersted parties - claim that " Bill S1082 pretends to address drug safety while in fact proposing a set of laws that helps hide existing risks while ushering in the next generation of extreme drug risk (the Critical Path Initiative). At the same time the bill dramatically broadens FDA regulatory power to attack dietary supplements and health freedom. " This quote is from an article by a nutritionist named Byron Richards embedded within the e-mail. Here is a link to his analysis of the bill: http://www.newswithvi ews.com/Richards/byron23.htm Here is another quote from this analysis: " Furthermore, the new bill seeks to allow a massive expanse of FDA regulatory power through this new foundation. For example, on pages 106-107 the bill states: “The purpose of the Foundation is to advance the mission of the Food and Drug Administration to modernize medical, veterinary, food, food ingredient, and cosmetic product development, accelerate innovation, and enhance product safety….The Foundation shall [take] into consideration the Critical Path reports and priorities published by the Food and Drug Administration, identify unmet needs in the development, manufacture, and evaluation of the safety and effectiveness, including post approval, of devices, including diagnostics, biologics, and drugs, and the safety of food, food ingredients, and cosmetics.” Through this foundation the FDA is seeking broad new regulatory power that it currently does not possess. This will include the authority to attack any dietary supplement (which are food ingredients) as unsafe based on its use of “Critical Path” technology. " The shrill tone of much of the information in the e-mail, similar to that circulating in regard to the FDA Draft Guidance document, caused me to be skeptical at first. But I did a little research and found that Sen. Kennedy had in fact introduced the bill yesterday and that the wording of parts of the bill seem to fall in line with what is stated in the e-mail. I'm certainly not qualified to interpret legalese or read between the lines of government legislation but I felt that this was worthy of perusal by those on this group who are more in tune with these issues. And the strength of the reaction by an established supplement manufacturer and the possible negative ramifications for those of us using Chinese herbs got my attention. Kim Blankenship, L.Ac. Ahhh...imagining that irresistible " new car " smell? Check outnew cars at Autos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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