Washington, D.C.—The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) is now requiring all member companies to submit product labels to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) Dietary Supplement Label Database (DSLD).



In a statement, CRN said this was "'a first, and necessary, step' toward improving transparency in the supplement industry." The group believes that submitting this information will increase consumer accountability, though the database was originally intended for regulators and researchers.

At its October annual meeting, CRN announced that it would be evaluating ways to make a reliable industry-wide registry of dietary supplements. The Working Group felt requiring members to submit information to the ODS DSLD would be the best route to start with.

CRN is hoping, however, that the ODS could be improved. CRN recently submitted comments to the ODS suggesting several changes such as expanded capacity and quicker processing; creating a process to update labels; and giving FDA "confidential information that would allow it to more efficiently contact manufacturers and packagers."

Published in WholeFoods Magazine, March 2016 (1/19/16)