CRN praises FDA recall of tainted weight loss supplements

WASHINGTON The Council for Responsible Nutrition on Friday applauded the Food and Drug Administration’s expansion of its recall of 69 tainted products advertised as weight loss dietary supplements.

“It is particularly concerning that some of these weight loss products illegally contain pharmaceutical drugs, which can be especially dangerous and put consumers at risk,” stated Steve Mister, CRN president and chief executive officer. “It is unfortunate that some of these products have been marketed as dietary supplements.

Under the law, what is in the dietary supplement bottle should be listed on the label and products that break the law have no business being on store shelves,” he said. “Regardless of how it is marketed, if a weight loss product contains a drug ingredient, it is a drug under federal law.”

Mister noted that the majority of companies in the dietary supplement industry abide by the law and work hard to provide the more than 150 million Americans who take vitamins and other dietary supplements with safe, high quality and beneficial products. “We encourage consumers to be savvy when it comes to their supplements—always buy from reputable companies that you know and trust,” Mister said.