New York, NY— The American Conference Institute in collaboration with the Council for Responsible Nutrition is once again hosting its Legal and Regulatory Dietary Supplements Conference. The conference will take place on June 26 – 27 at the InterContinental New York Times Square. While the dietary supplement industry has gathered itself and learned from the actions taken against it in the past couple of years, the legal and regulatory environment continues to challenge us.

The conference will cover new and ongoing topics. The expectation to learn and understand these topics is clear for manufacturers, but it’s also important for natural products retailers to understand the issues because they ultimately affect the merchandise on your shelves, how your business operates and what your customers have access to. You can still register for the conferencehere, but if you are unable to attend,WholeFoodswill be covering the event and fill you in on the details.

Some topics we look forward to learning more about are:
  • The Politics and Policy of Dietary Supplements in the Era of the Trump Administration — WholeFoods is intrigued to see what experts perceive the Trump Administration’s approach will be to dietary supplements, particularly with regard to new leadership in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as well as the Federal Trade Commission.
  • The Revised FDA Draft NDI Guidance: Assessments, Interpretations and Ambiguities — We’ve been covering this throughout the year and it continues to be an important issue as experts get better acquainted with the contents of the draft guidance and understand its impact on the industry. Previous drafts would have been quite detrimental, and while this latest draft has been the most well-received, there are still major concerns.
  • Update on Industry Self -Regulatory Initiatives — Recent efforts at industry self regulation are a positive step in taking better control in not only how the industry is perceived, but also how it is regulated. The more the industry works to self-regulate, the better leverage it has over how federal regulations may be implemented by establishing a standard that is not too burdensome on the industry. We look forward to hearing more about the Supplement OWL, SSCI and GRMA/ANSI cGMP audit standards.
  • The New Federal GMO Law: Understanding Its Applicability to Dietary Supplements — While particularly crucial to understand for manufacturers, this law will also influence how customers shop in your store and pick merchandise to purchase.
  • Claim Substantiation Post-Bayer: What Can the Industry Deduce? — What can manufacturers say their products can do in ads? How do they back it up? How do you as a retailer advertise products on the shelf? These are all important questions to answer following the Bayer decision.
  • Prop 65 Amendments and Case Update: New Concerns for the Dietary Supplement Industry — Similar to the GMO law, this will influence how your customers (in California) pick items for purchase in a profound way. Learn how supplement manufacturers will comply with Prop 65 to better understand your merchandise.
A more detailed agenda can be foundhere.