Puerto Rico reconsiders dietary supplement Administrative Order 346

WASHINGTON — The Puerto Rico Secretary of Health, Ana Ríus Armendáriz, announced this week that the Department of Health will not enforce Administrative Order 346, which placed regulatory fees on the distribution and manufacturing of dietary supplements that industry described as burdensome, advising she will now go through proper channels of notice, including a hearing, followed by a comment and rule making period later this year.



“We’re very encouraged that the Secretary is open to dialoguing with businesses and industry about this situation," stated Mike Greene VP government relations at the Council for Responsible Nutrition. "AO 346 would have a detrimental effect, both on consumers, who would be faced with higher prices on supplement products that are important for their health, and on businesses that contribute to the local economy," he said.



"We understand there are concerns about dangerous spiked products being illegally sold as dietary supplements, and we share that concern. It’s important, however, to separate the legitimate industry that manufactures and markets healthful products, such as multivitamins, calcium [and] fish oil ... from those companies that are selling products that are illegal drugs, not legal dietary supplements," Greene added.