Senators’ dietary supplement amendments catch CRN’s ire

WASHINGTON — The Council for Responsible Nutrition last week opposed three proposed amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act that would impact the sale of dietary supplements on military bases. Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., have offered three amendments that are opposed by CRN "because they are duplicative of current laws, create unnecessary and overly burdensome requirements for military personnel and do nothing to solve current, real enforcement concerns at the Food and Drug Administration."

 

Specifically, the amendments would require the nation's military to track the use of dietary supplements among military personnel and monitor adverse event data. A third amendment would require those supplements sold on base to be certified by a third party. 

 

“Like Sens. Blumenthal and Durbin, we want our soldiers who choose to take dietary supplements to have access to quality products and to responsibly incorporate them into their health regimens," CRN president and CEO Steve Mister said. “We also share concerns about products containing stimulants such as DMAA and similar ingredients that are illegally marketed both to soldiers and to civilians as dietary supplements. Unfortunately for the troops, Sens. Blumenthal and Durbin’s solution is to offer amendments to a defense authorization bill that duplicate current laws for reporting suspected adverse events from these products; create overly-burdensome monitoring of supplement use by military personnel; and limit access to a wide range of dietary supplements by service men and women."

 

According to a 2012 study, more than 53% of soldiers use dietary supplements, CRN reported. 

 

HBO's "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel" last month aired an expose criticizing the availability of adulterated sports nutrition supplements to the nation's military in a segment titled "In Harm's Way" that the industry criticized.