Orrin Hatch: “Last week during consideration of the Agriculture Appropriations bill, the Senate adopted an amendment Chairman Tom…”

“Last week during consideration of the Agriculture Appropriations bill, the Senate adopted an amendment Chairman Tom Harkin and I authored which will provide $1 million to the Food and Drug Administration for enforcement of three important consumer protection provisions of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994, DSHEA. Those provisions relate to the requirement that the dietary supplements be adequately labeled as to their ingredients and the proportion of each ingredient contained within, that statements of nutritional support (so-called 'structure/function' claims) must be truthful and non-misleading, and that manufacturers be able to substantiate the claims they make. These are very important protections we included in DSHEA so that consumers have the assurance that the products they buy are accurately labeled. In the seven years since the Congress passed this law unanimously, there have been sporadic reports that products are being sold that are not properly labeled. Indeed, the Senate Aging Committee held a hearing last month during which it was shown that there have been problems with appropriate enforcement of DSHEA. It is my strong contention that the law is completely adequate to deal with these problems, as FDA Commissioner Jane Henney advised the Congress on more than one occasion. However, it is obvious to me that enforcement has not been the priority it should be at HHS and FDA.”