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Supplements Industry Out of Control

Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.
The Florida Channel
Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.

In 1994, when the Republican tide took over Congress, the Food and Drug Administration lost the power to regulate dietary supplements. After the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act passed, FDA could no longer require companies to prove their products were safe and effective; it has to wait to investigate complaints of dangerous products after they have harmed consumers.

Twenty years later, the cost of deregulation is becoming clear. In one study of hospitalized patients with liver injuries, as reported recently by The New York Times, 20 percent of them had been harmed by dietary supplements.  One boy had permanent liver damage from green tea extract.

The Ledger in Lakeland recounts this history and says it is imperative that Congress restore authority to the FDA to ride herd on the $32-billion industry.

Originally founded in December 2006 as an independent grassroots publication dedicated to coverage of health issues in Florida, Health News Florida was acquired by WUSF Public Media in September 2012.