Natural Products Questions Potential Threat to Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act

WASHINGTON, Feb. 3 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In response to legislation expected to be announced shortly by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), and the US Anti-Doping Agency, John Gay, executive director and CEO of the Natural Products Association (NPA), the oldest and largest trade association representing retailers and manufacturers of dietary supplements and other natural products, issued the following statement:

"Our industry has long supported efforts to remove the relatively few bad actors who market adulterated products. We have advocated for additional enforcement funds for regulators, and for giving regulators additional authority to act.

"What we cannot support is wholesale changes to a regulatory structure that is working, and could work better if the measures we have supported were adopted. A series of new laws for criminals to ignore is not the answer.

"Some seek to paint with an awfully broad brush. For example, the idea that the 150 million Americans who use dietary supplements are gambling with their health by shopping at mainstream stores just doesn't stand up to scrutiny.   

"Hyperbole does not lead to sound policy."

The Natural Products Association (NPA), founded in 1936, is the largest and oldest non-profit organization dedicated to the natural products industry. The Natural Products Association represents more than 10,000 retailers, manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors of natural products, including foods, dietary supplements, and health/beauty aids. As the leading voice of the natural products industry, the Natural Products Association's mission is to advocate for the rights of consumers to have access to products that will maintain and improve their health, and for the rights of retailers and suppliers to sell these products.

SOURCE Natural Products Association