CRN Opposes Supplement-related Amendments to Military Spending Authorization Bill

Washington, D.C., June 10, 2015—In response to three amendments introduced by Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), the leading trade association for the dietary supplement and functional food industry, issued the following statement:

Statement by Steve Mister, president & CEO, CRN: 

“More than half of U.S. soldiers use dietary supplements¹, ranging from multivitamins and protein powders to fish oil and Echinacea, and like Senators Blumenthal and Durbin, we want our soldiers who choose to take dietary supplements to have access to quality products and to responsibly incorporate them into their health regimens. Dietary supplements provide important benefits to all Americans, and can help soldiers stay in top physical condition. We also share concerns about products containing stimulants such as DMAA and similar ingredients that are illegally marketed both to soldiers and to civilians as dietary supplements. These incidents demand a swift response from FDA, the agency charged with protecting all Americans’ health and safety. Unfortunately for the troops, Senators Blumenthal and Durbin’s solution is to offer amendments to a defense authorization bill that duplicate current laws for reporting suspected adverse events from these products; create overly-burdensome monitoring of supplement use by military personnel; and limit access to a wide range of dietary supplements by service men and women. While CRN is open to having reasonable conversations about ridding the marketplace of illegal dietary supplements, we oppose unnecessary laws that interfere with medical privacy, prohibit consumer access to legal products, and place additional burdens on military personnel. Therefore, we oppose these three amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act.”

_{^1. “Use of dietary supplements among active-duty US Army soldiers,” Lieberman et al., Am. J. of Clin. Nutr. (2010)  http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/92/4/985.full.}   

Note to Editor: For more information, here is CRN’s position paper on Senate Amendments 1560, 1561, and 1562.

The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), founded in 1973, is a Washington, D.C.-based trade association representing 150+ dietary supplement and functional food manufacturers, ingredient suppliers, and companies providing services to those manufacturers and suppliers. In addition to complying with a host of federal and state regulations governing dietary supplements and food in the areas of manufacturing, marketing, quality control and safety, our manufacturer and supplier members also agree to adhere to additional voluntary guidelines as well as to CRN’s Code of Ethics. Visit www.crnusa.org. Follow us on Twitter @crn_supplements and @wannabewell and on Facebook.