The Natural Products Association (NPA) is the leading representative of the dietary supplement and natural products industry. NPA CEO and Executive Director Daniel Fabricant, Ph.D., former director of the Division of Dietary Supplement Programs at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), comments on the announcement that New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and 13 other state attorneys general sent a letter to Congress requesting an investigation into herbal supplements and calling for more regulatory oversight of the industry by the FDA:

“Attorney General Schneiderman has admitted that the federal Good Manufacturing Practices currently in place for dietary supplements are sufficient, and companies such as GNC are in compliance with those, but yet he moves forward in his request to spend federal taxpayer dollars on an investigation into an industry that is fully regulated by the FDA.

The Natural Products Association regards this most recent action by Attorney General Schneiderman as added harassment based on science fiction. For the past two months, the attorney general has continued to escalate his attack on the supplement industry without any legitimate data to back up his arguments.

As the former head of the FDA’s Division of Dietary Supplement Programs, I have seen first-hand how the agency may take swift and forceful action when dietary supplement companies violate federal regulations. The FDA is properly equipped to identify and go after firms that pose a threat to public health. Attorney General Schneiderman’s claims that the FDA doesn’t have ample authority in this area show a complete misunderstanding of the regulatory structure in place to protect consumers and remove products from the market.

There are serious issues facing Congress right now, and this request from Attorney General Schneiderman and the 13 other state attorneys general is an unnecessary distraction for our legislative branch. NPA encourages Attorney General Schneiderman to direct his time and resources toward issues that truly do present a danger to consumers, and end his efforts to take away products that contribute daily to the overall health and wellness of hundreds of millions of Americans.”