Dietary-supplement plan good for industry, buyers

Here in Utah we are rightfully proud of our traditions. One such tradition is a strong commitment to taking care of ourselves. We know that when it comes to our health, an ounce of prevention is truly worth a pound of cure.

Another Utah tradition is being an international leader in the production of healthful, high-quality natural products. Last year more than 100 companies in our state produced nearly $4 billion in natural products, providing thousands of good Utah jobs and providing millions of Americans the quality dietary supplements they rely on.

A proposal now being considered in Congress, and spearheaded by our senior senator, Orrin Hatch, would serve both of these proud Utah traditions. Sen. Hatch, along with a bipartisan coalition of his colleagues in the U.S. Senate, is developing a plan that would be good for both health-conscious Utah consumers and the state's large and growing natural products industry. This plan would require dietary supplement manufacturers to report any serious adverse events, such as a hospitalization or persistent or significant disability related to the consumption of dietary supplements, to the Food and Drug Administration.

Dietary supplements have a very safe track record, so these serious adverse reactions are few and far between. And many responsible natural products manufacturers already voluntarily report them to the FDA. However, some do not. And that should change.

Such a common-sense change would provide better early warning signals in the rare event a serious adverse event occurs. It could more rapidly identify a batch of products that have been adulterated or tampered with.

This will increase consumer confidence in the safety of their supplements and help companies more rapidly identify and correct a problem. It will assure consumers that serious adverse events are rare and that problems will be promptly investigated. And a strong national reporting system will mean that companies won't have to deal with duplicative or widely varying state or local requirements. States like New York and California have already signaled their interest in such new requirements.

The Utah Natural Products Alliance and all other major dietary supplement trade associations support a responsibly crafted national mandatory reporting system. However, some in our industry disagree. They argue that it will lead to a flood of bogus complaints created by competing companies hoping to embarrass their rivals. They argue that these complaints will drive a wave of lawsuits that will put companies out of business.