Virginia (703) 239-8968

DSHEA Needed for Animal Supplements

Walk into any mainstream pet store and it is evident that the pet supplement industry is booming.  Pet store shelves are packed with animal counterparts to human supplements, such as joint health supplements for cats and dogs.  Because of the prevalence of such products, one would never guess that FDA does not recognize dietary supplements […]

Food Additive Petitions Versus the GRAS Notification Program

Individuals wanting to add a new substance to a conventional food have two options for achieving regulatory compliance.  They can either submit a food additive petition to FDA or notify FDA of their determination that the substance is generally recognized as safe (“GRAS”). Under FDA’s food additive regulations, food additives require premarket approval.  A “food […]

FTC Investigating Vitamin Shoppe Purchase of Super Supplements, Inc.

The FTC is once again intruding into the marketplace by investigating The Vitamin Shoppe’s planned $50 million acquisition of Super Supplements, Inc.  The specifics of the investigation are unclear because the FTC does not comment on investigations and Vitamin Shoppe’s brief statement concerning the investigation did not detail the reason for it, but stated that […]

FDA to Supplement Manufacturers: Confirm Safety of Direct Food Additive or GRAS NDIs

FDA recommends that dietary supplement manufacturers and distributors voluntarily consult with it concerning the safety of supplements containing high amounts of new dietary ingredients (“NDIs”) that are approved direct food additives or GRAS. An NDI notification must be submitted to FDA at least 75 days before selling a dietary supplement if the dietary supplement contains […]

Dietary Supplement Distributors are Responsible for Contract Manufacturer’s CGMP Compliance

A dietary supplement distributor that uses a contract manufacturer to make its dietary supplement can be held liable for the contract manufacturer’s failure to comply with current good manufacturing practices (“CGMPs”).   Accordingly, distributors should ensure that their contract manufacturers follow CGMPs. According to the CGMP final rule,  a company must only “comply with the CGMP […]

Why FTC CID’s Must Be Reformed

By Jonathan W. Emord When the Federal Trade Commission commences a non-public investigation of a company it suspects of deceptive health benefit advertising, it oftentimes resorts to use of a civil investigative demand, which is an administrative subpoena.  The Supreme Court has upheld sweeping use of investigative powers by the federal government prior to the […]

Supreme Court to Decide Whether Patent Exhaustion Doctrine Applies to GMOs, Self-Replicating Products

One of the cases the U.S. Supreme Court will decide next year is the David and Goliath like suit between an Indiana soy bean farmer, Vernon Bowman, and Monsanto Co., the producer of seeds that are genetically engineered to be resistant to glyphosate based herbicides, including Monsanto’s Roundup.   Farmers that plant Roundup Ready® crops can […]

Current FDA Appears Not to Follow FDA’s Informal Two-Click Policy

During the Bush Administration, FDA had an unwritten and informal enforcement policy that allowed a website selling dietary supplements to link to scientific literature discussing nutrients in those supplements and diseases, provided that the page containing the scientific literature was at least “two clicks” away from product pages in question.  That Bush era policy appears […]


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11808 Wolf Run Lane
Clifton, VA 20124
Telephone: (703) 239-8968