The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released a report titled Prenatal Supplements: Amounts of Some Key Nutrients Differed from Product Labels.
GAO reported: "Unlike medications, dietary supplements—including those for prenatal care—don't have to be evaluated for safety or effectiveness by the Food and Drug Administration before reaching stores.This Q&A report assesses whether labels for over-the-counter prenatal supplements reflect actual amounts of vitamins and minerals in them. Our testing showed that 11 of 12 prenatal supplements had at least one nutrient above or below the levels noted on labels."
GAO testing revealed that the the prenatal supplement products it looked at had at least one tested nutrient (folic acid, iodine, iron, or vitamin A, C, or E) that, on average, contained an amount outside of acceptable deviations from the amount stated on the label. GAO cautioned: "This could lead to a pregnant individual either consuming too much or too little of these nutrients."
Due to its findings, GAO issued a recommendation that Congress consider giving FDA more authority to oversee dietary supplements.
CRN stresses safety of the prenatal supplements
The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) weighed in on the report, emphasizing that the variations of nutrient levels found in the products GAO tested "do not pose safety risks to pregnant women or their unborn babies and should in no way deter those who are pregnant from taking prenatal supplements." CRN raised concerns that too many women do not get the adequate nutrients they need during pregnancy, and noted that, in all cases, pregnant women should always consult with their doctor about their prenatal supplement regimen to determine proper dosing for them.
“This report strikes an unnecessarily alarmist note when the vast majority of these supplements are not only safe, but vital to the health of mothers and their unborn babies,” said CRN’s Andrea Wong, Senior Vice President, Scientific & Regulatory Affairs. “The worst possible outcome would be for women to read this report and decide not to take prenatal supplements, when research shows the critical benefits these nutrients provide in the form of supplementation.”
CRN, which is an advocate for mandatory product listing, added that the association agrees with the report’s recommendation that Congress should make FDA “require dietary supplement manufacturers to notify or register with FDA prior to putting any dietary supplement on the market and to provide a copy of the supplement label.” CRN noted that its members already voluntarily provide that information in its publicly available ingredient database, the Supplement OWL.
