At the same time as it issued the GMPs, FDA published a Consumer Update touting the release of the GMPs. In that publication, FDA once again has taken a gratuitous slap at the industry, proclaiming that “some supplements pose health risks. They may contain harmful ingredients or be improperly manufactured or handled”.

When FDA issues regulations or takes an enforcement action against any other class of goods, the Agency goes to great pains to assure the public that the broad class of goods is of generally high quality and deserving of consumer confidence. Why do supplements deserve this kind of negative “special treatment”? In case you don’t think it matters, just look at the mainstream media reporting about the new regulation which almost invariably asserts: a) until now supplements were unregulated; b) that the new regulations were finally promulgated as the result of pressure by so-called consumer advocacy groups such as Center for Science in the Public Interest; or c) both of these supposed facts.