US Congress passes Vitamin legislation

The US Congress has passed a bill setting the first safety standards for dietary supplements and allowing their sale once shown to be safe, but banning most claims to cure or prevent illness. The bill, which covers labels and advertising, requires the makers of vitamins, minerals, herbal products and amino acids to refrain for four years from making health claims for their products. The companies say these rules are really a ban.

A strict standard of proof is required for claims of cures or disease prevention, but claims about how vitamins and supplements might help promote good health are allowed. Makers of new products must show the Food and Drug Administration proof of safety 75 days before the products go on sale, allowing it time to challenge any supplements it feels are unsafe.

A presidential commission of experts will study the issue for two years and decide how claims should be treated. The Health and Human Services Secretary will then have two years to adjust FDA rules and, if no action is taken, Congress could reopen the issue. Meantime, companies can label products with information on how they affect bodily function, ie, a product cannot be sold as an arthritis cure without substantial proof but can be promoted as enhancing the immune system, if this claim has some substantiation.