The US Senate majority Whip, Dick Durbin, has introduced the Dietary Supplement Listing Act of 2024.
The new legislation requires supplement manufacturers to list their products with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), while also sharing key information about them, such as a copy of the label, a full ingredients list, allergen statements and health claims.
This follows on from the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA), which enabled the FDA to regulate dietary supplements in 1994.
“The FDA, as well as dietary supplement users, should know what dietary supplements are on the market and what ingredients are included in them. This is FDA’s most basic function, and this act is the first step to protecting consumers,” said Dick Durbin.
“The FDA estimates that there are more than 100,000 supplements now on the market, but we don’t know critical information about most of them. Americans deserve a transparent supplement market, and it’s about time that we deliver it for them.”
Publicising dietary supplement data across the US
The Dietary Supplement Listing Act of 2024 would mean that all the information shared with the FDA would be made public through an electronic database.
It’s estimated that more than 75% of adults in America currently use at least one dietary supplement — though the industry faces little regulation.
In 2023 alone, the FDA received 2,000 reports of adverse events connected to the use of dietary supplements. However, the organisation estimates that the actual number of events is more than 50,000, as the regulator claims there is a significant issue with underreporting.
This act follows the Prohibiting Tianeptine and Other Dangerous Products Act — which was announced in April 2024. It forbids the use of illegal or dangerous ingredients from being incorporated into dietary supplement formulas.