The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and Supplement Safety Now (SSN) applaud the United States Senate, including Senators McCain, Dorgan, Harkin, Enzi and Hatch for passing S. 510, the Food and Drug Administration Food Safety and Modernization Act. The Food Safety legislation allows for a quick solution to several of the concerns raised in an effort to better protect consumers from dangerous dietary supplements sold in retail stores and online.
Included in the legislation, which attaches legislative changes to the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act are a number of solutions to issues raised by SSN, including registration of all dietary supplement companies, mandatory recall for unsafe dietary supplements, requirements that the FDA finally identify new versus old dietary supplement ingredients, and increased information sharing on harmful substances between the FDA and the Drug Enforcement Agency.
“This legislation provides much-needed additional consumer protections, without risking access to legal supplements,” said USADA CEO, Travis T. Tygart. “We support Congress’ passage of this important bill, and look forward to the President’s signature. We will continue to monitor the impact of these changes while maintaining efforts to hold the supplement industry accountable for ensuring all of their products are healthy and safe for consumers. Most importantly, with the addition of FDA recall authority, supplement makers must ensure their products are safe and legal prior to going to market. USADA will remain vigilant with the FDA when unsafe dietary supplements hit the markets to ensure FDA’s recall authority is enforced to the fullest extent.”
The SSN partners are pleased that in less than one year since the coalition’s launch, and within the same legislative calendar year since Senators McCain and Dorgan announced efforts to introduce legislation, an agreement has been reached with bi-partisan support.
USADA will continue to work with its SSN partners to ensure that athletes, and consumers in general, are made aware of and kept apprised of news and advancements to the critical issue of supplement safety. This includes the ongoing development and launch of a robust online portal for consumers, and in particular athletes, to be informed in advance of purchasing and/or taking supplement products. The group will also continue to work toward enhancements to the Controlled Substances Act and the efforts and amendments to which the industry has agreed.
About Supplement Safety Now (SSN)
USADA launched Supplement Safety Now (www.SupplementSafetyNow.com) in partnership with the National Football League, Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, the National Hockey League, the U.S. Olympic Committee and other national sports and health organizations, urging Congress to refine the regulatory framework to ensure that all supplements sold over the counter, in retail stores, and online, are safe and free of dangerous steroids and other drugs.
To date, joining the MLB, NFL, the USOC, NBA and NHL in their support of Supplement Safety Now are: USA Swimming, USA Triathlon, USA Gymnastics, USA Track and Field, USA Cycling, U.S. Lacrosse, U.S. Tennis Association, the PGA Tour, the NCAA, The Center for Drug Free Sport, the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Swimming Coaches Association.
About USADA
USADA is the non-profit, independent and non-governmental entity responsible for the testing and results management process in the U.S. for athletes in the Olympic and Paralympic Movement, upholding the Olympic ideal of fair play, and representing the interests of athletes. USADA is dedicated to preserving the integrity of sport through research initiatives and educational programs. The agency manages a drug reference phone hotline and Global Drug Reference Online, conducts educational sessions with National Governing Bodies and their athletes, and proactively distributes a multitude of educational materials, such as curriculums, themed brochures and nutrition and dietary guides, easy- reference wallet cards for the prohibited substance list, periodic newsletters, and protocol and policy reference publications, all of which can be found at www.USADA.org.