View Cart

Quality Counts

Envisioning the Future of Dietary Supplement Regulation

By Erik Goldman, Editor in Chief

In the 25 years since Congress passed the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA), the supplement industry has grown from cottage industry to multi-billion dollar global business. Rapid growth, the introduction of new ingredients, the globalization of the raw materials supply chain, the widespread use of genetically-modified ingredients, and the growing threat of economically-motivated product adulteration are  challenging DSHEA in ways its original framers could not have envisioned.

Read more ...

The Roots of Supplement Quality Are in the Soil

By Kristen Schepker, Assistant Editor

For dietary supplements containing plant-derived ingredients, product quality has its roots in the soil in which those plants are grown. Recent developments in soil science and sustainable agriculture are helping conscientious companies to safeguard product quality in an era of widespread environmental degradation.

Read more ...

Holistic Practitioners Voice Ambivalence on Dietary Supplement Regulations

By Erik Goldman

How do Holistic Primary Care’s practitioner-readers feel about the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA)? Over half don’t even know what it is. Among those who do recognize DSHEA as the main federal statute regulating dietary supplements, there’s considerable ambivalence about the efficacy and the intent of the law.

Read more ...

Formulation Innovation: How New Science Shapes Supplement Product Development

By Erik Goldman, Editor

Research on the impact of various vitamins, minerals, fats, and other nutraceutical substances is progressing at a rapid pace, despite a regulatory system that prohibits supplement companies from using clinical data to make prevention or treatment claims.  None the less, inovative companies are translating new discoveries into a new wave of science-backed supplements.

Read more ...

Supplement Makers Take Action To Reduce Environmental Impact

By Kristen Schepker, Assistant Editor

Healthcare—with its reliance on single-use disposables—is one of the world’s biggest polluters. And the natural products and dietary supplements industries—despite their “clean, green, and healthy” values—do contribute to the deluge of trash and pollution. Fortunately, eco-conscious companies in the natural products sector are responding to the crisis, and leading the charge toward ecological sustainability.

Read more ...

How Supplement Companies Walk Their Wellness Talk

By Ellen Kanner, Contributing Writer

Nutraceutical companies like Klaire Labs, Lonza, and Metagenics appreciate a healthy bottom line, but they also value a healthy workforce. A company that makes a strong and sustained commitment to the health and wellbeing of its own employees is likely to be equally committed to ensuring the quality and safety of its products.

Read more ...

One Year On, CRN Sees Success With Online Supplement Registry

By Erik Goldman, Editor

In the 18 months since it launched, the Council for Responsible Nutrition’s “Online Wellness Library” (OWL) has amassed labels and product information from 89 dietary supplement companies representing over 11,000 product labels. The library, an independent and voluntary project, is part of a broader supplement industry movement toward greater transparency and truthfulness.

Read more ...

Common Medicinal Herbs That Are Vulnerable to Adulteration

By Erik Goldman, Editor

All herbs, like all agricultural products, are potentially subject to contamination with microbes, pesticides, environmental toxins, and financially-motivated adulteration or mislabeling.Certain herbs, however, have been particularly vulnerable to economically-motivated adulteration.

Read more ...

Is the Time Right to Revise DSHEA?

By Erik Goldman, Editor

The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) has certainly had its share of critics over the 25 years since it was signed into law by then-President Bill Clinton.Some contend the regulation is weak, and that it gives the supplement industry too much latitude, while providing too little consumer protection. On the other side, many argue that the law puts a stranglehold on truthful communication about supplements. Is the time right to revisit–and revise–this landmark law?

Read more ...

Copyright © 2021 Holistic Primary Care. All Rights Reserved.