Washington, D.C., April 13, 2017—The Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA) is encouraging its member companies who market dietary supplements to submit their product labels to the Supplement OWL (Online Wellness Library), a new dietary supplement product label registry set to launch in April. This announcement follows discussions between CHPA and its Dietary Supplements Committee, where the association and its committee members reviewed the rationale for the registry and the process by which labels would be submitted.
According to the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) President and CEO Steve Mister, “We’re heartened by CHPA’s recognition that the Supplement OWL serves as one means of enhancing transparency for the dietary supplement industry. We know that CHPA members share our understanding of the importance of transparency and want to be responsible when it comes to labeling.”
“When purchasing dietary supplement products, consumers have the right to expect those products are properly labeled and manufactured in accordance with FDA requirements,” said CHPA President and CEO Scott Melville. “CHPA applauds CRN and UL for spearheading the Supplement OWL, which will prove to be a valuable resource for regulators, retailers and ultimately consumers. This self-initiated effort demonstrates a commitment by leading manufacturers to enhance transparency around lawful dietary supplement products.”
Last week, the American Botanical Council (ABC) announced its endorsement of the Supplement OWL, stating, in part “…we believe that this new program, in principle, helps fill a vital need in the dietary supplement industry…”
Said Mr. Mister, “We commend both CHPA and ABC for their support, and we thank those companies who have demonstrated leadership by having already submitted their labels and those who are in the process of doing so. From the beginning, we viewed this as an industry-wide initiative that will succeed only if a significant number of companies participate. We fully expect the registry will continue to grow as companies look for ways to demonstrate industry accountability to regulators and consumers.”
The Supplement OWL is an industry-wide self- regulatory initiative that will help create a rich and more complete picture of the marketplace for regulators, retailers and other stakeholders.
For more information on the Supplement OWL, visit www.SupplementOWL.org.
About CHPA
The Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA) is the 136-year-old trade association representing the leading manufacturers and marketers of over-the-counter (OTC) medicines and dietary supplements. Every dollar spent by consumers on OTC medicines saves the U.S. healthcare system $6-$7, contributing a total of $102 billion in savings each year. CHPA is committed to empowering consumer self-care by preserving and expanding choice and availability of consumer healthcare products. Visit www.chpa.org and www.KnowYourOTCs.org.
About CRN
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.