What You Need to Know About Dietary Supplements and the FDA

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires certain businesses to meet strict regulations to ensure consumer safety. Businesses that fall under the FDA’s guidelines include those that produce food, drugs, medical devices, cosmetics, and other similar items. The FDA ensures product safety through testing and monitoring the ingredients and byproducts from those industries. They also ensure consumer safety by regulating the labels placed on the products, guaranteeing that consumers have enough information to make informed decisions.

Dietary Supplements and the FDA

Currently, the FDA does not impose the same strict regulations on dietary supplements, although the FDA still monitors aspects of this industry to ensure safety.

If you are processing a dietary supplement, understanding the following aspects is crucial:

• Adverse effects from dietary supplements reported by consumers must be evaluated and reported to the FDA.
• The “Good Manufacturing Practice” requires manufacturers to evaluate their dietary supplements to ensure purity, strength, and composition via product testing.
• The “Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act” requires product containers to be labeled with accurate information. If the FDA determines that adulterated or misbranded labels are in use, they will take action against the producer.
• Dietary supplement manufacturers must register their facilities with the FDA before manufacturing any products.

So, although the FDA does not currently regulate dietary supplements as strictly as other human consumable products, it still enforces quality control measures by supervising the production and sales of dietary supplements.

Net at Work has developed methods to make the process of meeting government regulations easier. Contact us to learn how we can help you.