ACCESS 2023 REPORTS | ACCESS Q3 2024 REPORT
CRN closed Q4 2024 strong, marking an impactful year of work, including setting the record straight about the safety of prenatal vitamins, moving forward its litigation fighting for the industry’s First Amendment rights in relation to age restrictions, and much more. This page includes links to the content referenced in our Q4 2024 Industry Impact printable one-page summary.
Following is a brief recap of CRN’s work for its members during Q4 in each of the areas of our strategic plan:
Expanding Self-Regulatory Initiatives
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CRN promoted the range of self-regulatory programs in the supplement industry, wrapping up its 2024 campaign, “Responsible. It’s Our Middle Name.” The campaign highlighted CRN’s leadership in the industry through a range of self-regulatory programs like The Supplement OWL, Voluntary Guidelines and the Vitamins & Mineral Safety handbook. Components of the campaign included a quiz at CRN’s annual conference, several articles in trade press and a byline from SVP Andrea Wong, Ph.D., on the importance of “making the harder choice,” to foster trust and demonstrate commitment to improving the industry from within.
- A new fourth edition of the CRN Vitamin & Mineral Safety publication started taking shape as research and writing began to update the recommendations for safe upper levels for 27 essential nutrients. Using a risk assessment model that uses only human data, the new edition will include the latest publicly available research. Previous editions are routinely used by governments and policy makers around the globe to set upper levels for many supplements.
- CRN continued to convene members of its Self-Regulation Review Working Group. The group is evaluating existing self-regulatory programs to determine which need revision and to guide decision making on what future guidelines will be developed.
Influencing Public Policy
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CRN publicly addressed misconceptions about DSHEA and advocated for balanced dialogue on supplement regulation in response to outgoing FDA Commissioner Califf’s remarks during an FDA-NIH workshop. CRN President & CEO Steve Mister commented that it will be “a refreshing change to have government leaders who acknowledge the benefits of supplements, and the role better nutrition plays in disease reduction. Cabinet officials who don’t start from a place of skepticism and distrust can be advocates for a more integrative approach to health that focuses on prevention.”
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CRN encouraged broader inclusion of dietary supplements in the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee’s recommendations, urging recognition of supplements as essential in addressing nutrient gaps.
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CRN publicly challenged the USPSTF’s draft guidelines advising against vitamin D and calcium supplements, emphasizing their essential role in health maintenance for older adults. “If you’re not accounting for these people who are already at risk, those are the people who will benefit the most from supplemental vitamin D and calcium.”
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CRN connected with scientific leaders at the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) Coalition for Whole Person Health inaugural meeting.
Improving Consumer Access
- CRN continued to push back on legislative proposals in three states (MA, MI, and NJ) that seek to place misguided age restrictions on supplements that would limit access for everyone to legal products that are safe and beneficial and is advancing its litigation in the state of New York to overturn an existing law.
- CRN kicked off a new partnership with the National Association of Free and Charitable Clinics (NAFCC) to provide products to underserved populations and provide nutrition education to inform their overall health and wellness choices.
Cultivating Positive Public Perceptions
- CRN pushed back against a flawed study misrepresenting the safety of prenatal vitamins that incited unnecessary anxiety among pregnant women. After identifying methodological errors and clarifying misapplied standards in the paper, CRN succeeded in getting the paper withdrawn and the accompanying press release from the author’s university removed. See our CRN Supplement Interim Alert, "CRN Actions Lead to Withdrawal of Flawed AJCN Study on Prenatal Vitamins" for the full timeline.
- CRN presented important findings from the CRN Foundation's “Vitamin D and Me!” educational initiative at the National Community Pharmacists Association 2024 Annual Convention and Expo, with Lois Lin, Ph.D., of CRN associate member SGS Nutrasource taking the stage.
- CRN highlighted responsible industry players through its Profiles in Leadership, Experts Explain, and Supplement Source podcast.
- CRN pushed back on inaccurate reporting on dietary supplements, publicly calling out the erroneous narrative that dietary supplements are “unregulated” through social media posts as well as direct outreach to journalists.
Expanding Membership and Educational Offerings
- CRN held a member breakfast briefing at SupplySide West to provide updates on the association’s litigation in New York to protect supplement marketers' rights, pushing back against the age restriction law that went into effect in April.
- In December, CRN presented a post-election virtual panel discussion for members with expert analysis of implications of the new Congress and Trump Administration for key federal agencies, legislative priorities, and global trade—now available on demand.
