The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA), which passed into law 30 years ago this October, gave the natural products industry its first federal statutory guarantee of freedom to tell the public of the health benefits of nutrition. Prior to it, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had threatened to remove and treat as a drug any nutritional supplement that exceeded 150% of the Recommended Dietary Allowance, among other industry attacks. Of course, it was—and continues to be—the drug industry’s influence on FDA to curtail access to natural products that necessitated DSHEA as a legislative response.
To pass DSHEA, the entire industry created a coordinated action. Raw materials suppliers, product and brand manufacturers, industry associations, and natural products retailers developed common messaging and merchandising toolkits to alert consumers who then showered Congress with the largest number of public comments on any law federal legislators had ever contemplated passing.
In Part I of this series, published in our June/July issue, we canvassed natural products retailers across the country to hear what they are doing to advocate for and protect access to natural products in 2024. Retailers lamented recently passed state-level legislation, such as age restrictions to purchase natural products in New York State, which many believe would not have become law 10 or 20 years ago, when the industry was more allied. Here, in Part II, industry leaders on the supply side of the business share their views on advocacy in 2024.
Loren Israelsen, Founder and President, United Natural Products Alliance (UNPA):
Israelsen remembers the effort to pass DSHEA, “with pride and fondness: We felt we were doing big things. Since then we have worked to make sure the regulatory implementation of DSHEA is correct.” That continues to be an ongoing issue with some disagreements with FDA over several key issues. Israelsen is concerned the states are becoming more active, as they were 30 years ago. “Few people remember this,” he points out. DSHEA, Israelsen says, was intended to minimize state action but the states see FDA as not acting against certain classes of supplements, so the states are taking it on.
“The attacks on homeopathy and compounding pharmacies are very worrisome,” Israelsen says. “What is next? And what if there is a big fight coming? Do we have any political leadership?”
Reflecting on the impact retailers have, Israelsen shares, “I have a deep fondness for the local retail community. They were the foot soldiers and the warriors of DSHEA. Without them, there is no DSHEA. Now there are fewer and fewer local retailers, and they are asking, quite rightly, what is Amazon doing for our community? What are the venture capitalists (VC) doing for our community? The answer is Amazon avoids politics and the VC owners see little return on investment to support our community of nonprofits, associations, and worthy causes. Community retailers are understandably pissed off and discouraged. I share their sentiments in this regard and see it as a bad omen for an industry that has survived and grown because of its willingness to go fight for our health freedoms. Do we still have that fire in our bellies? That is the question. Or deep pockets but short arms?”
Kyle Garner, President/Chief Commercial Officer, Better Being, makers of Solaray, Kal, Zhou, Nature's Life:
“We believe strong and thoughtful advocacy is critical to the long-term success of our industry. With the high level of fragmentation in the supplement industry, it’s difficult for any single company to have a loud enough voice to really move the needle. This is why it is critical that we work closely with dietary supplement trade associations to find a common (and louder) voice on key issues impacting our products and brands.
“We are proud members of AHPA [American Herbal Products Association]. Unfortunately, much like our industry, the dietary supplement trade association structure is fragmented. As a result, it can be difficult to align on priorities and strategic approaches to advocacy among the trades. We will continue to encourage AHPA leadership to work closely with the other trade associations to ensure we are driving as much consistency in approach as possible.
“We often talk about ‘the good old days’ when we were able to drive the unified and powerful message that led to the passage of DSHEA. While it would be great to have that level of unity today, the world has changed in ways that make this more difficult. Between Federal and State level actions, we have had to fragment our time and investments to address numerous challenges from all fronts.
“The sheer number of companies selling products is also a challenge to consistency in messaging, but the fragmentation in retail might be an even bigger hurdle. Thirty years ago, we were able to build off the passion of natural products retailers across the country. Today, so much of the supplement business has shifted to eCommerce and FDM [Food, Drug and Mass channels] where that level of passion and commitment to advocacy just doesn’t exist. Many newer brands that focus on these channels are not involved in industry advocacy and may prefer to avoid drawing attention to themselves due to quality and regulatory concerns and lack of experience. Among the associated retail outlets and channels, players certainly have a voice in advocacy on many topics, but supplements are only a tiny part of their entire businesses, so this just isn’t a priority for them.
“To increase our impact in the future, we need to align as an industry on the one or two biggest challenges and put all our effort against these priorities instead of spreading ourselves so thin across every potential challenge we may face. We also need to do this in a way where we can partner with the regulators to give them a seat at the table instead of coming across as an industry that just says ‘no’ to everything.”
Jim Emme, Chief Executive Officer, NOW Health Group:
“We firmly believe in a multi-prong approach to Advocacy: trade associations, customer communications, grassroots advocacy, and direct contact and meeting with the legislators at state and federal levels to educate them and their staff. This may seem like a lot to do, but each approach has its advantages depending on the issue at hand. We have especially had a great deal of success working with the Natural Products Association in winning changes on FDA restrictions such as the fight to get NAC [N-acetylcysteine] status as an acceptable Dietary Supplement ingredient.
“We believe it’s critically important to be a part of an effective trade association. We are a manufacturer but also a brick-and-mortar retailer, so we understand what can happen if we do not stay engaged on the advocacy side of things. As the cliché goes, if you don’t have a seat at the table, then you’ll likely be on the menu. We are members of the Natural Products Association, the Alliance for Natural Health, The United Natural Products Alliance, and the American Herbal Products Association. We are also a member of multiple additional trade groups as well.
“Providing funding to the effective trade groups is mission critical right now. For example, the fight against a New York-style Weight Loss Law in California is underway, and organizations like NPA need funding, no matter the size of the contribution. Grassroots efforts are still an effective way to influence regulatory change. Retailers have a large group of potential influencers in their customer base that can make a major impact on Capitol Hill. We all need to make the effort to actually educate our consumers on the threat to their product choices and availability so they can help us protect these choices.”
Matt Warnock, CEO, Ridgecrest Herbals:
“We think advocacy should be proactive, not just responding to bad suggestions by regulatory authorities. There is a virtually unlimited supply of bad regulatory ideas; the problem is in the fundamental nature of regulation itself. We believe in responsibility and transparency, which support the conditions of a free market. Regulation adds overhead and compliance burdens that stifle innovation and protect the status quo.
“This is not a new problem; [Thomas] Jefferson warned against regulation of science by religious views, but the same regulatory effects apply today. When government tells us what is or isn’t science, rather than us telling it, the cart goes before the horse—or rather, neither goes anywhere.
“We have been actively involved with many industry organizations, such as AHPA.org, NPA, and ABC [American Botanical Council]. We also support consumer organizations like ANH-USA. org [Alliance for Natural Health—USA], NHF.com [National Health Federation], and Citizens for Health. We believe industry organizations are vital but insufficient. We need to work across all organizations and all fronts in a united way to advance a common vision of health freedom.
“People need to understand to what extent their health freedoms are constantly curtailed by government action. People are unique, and their health needs are unique. They cannot be foreseen or provided for by government action or regulation. The COVID pandemic highlighted many of the problems, but many of them were felt long before then. ‘We the People’ need to understand the dangers that occur when the government tells us what to do, rather than the other way around.
Wilson Lau, Chief Executive Officer, Nuherbs:
“Our core tenet to being an advocate for the natural products industry hasn’t changed in 45 years. We still treasure and follow the doctrine of our founder, my grandmother Dr. Bin Ying Lee: Think as a healer and put the patient first. This translates in our segment of the natural products industry as doing what is the best for the customer to ensure their optimal health. We do so by following the tenets of Traditional Chinese Medicine and celebrating and protecting what Mother Nature has given us. The proof isn’t in the pudding, but in the eating: If what you take works, you will share it with others. And as they say, there is nothing better than word-of-mouth from a trusted friend or family member.
“Supporting industry advocacy organizations is extremely important. We are active members of the American Herbal Products Association and the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia, to advocate on behalf of our industry and support scientific studies on the herbs that we love. We also hope to launch our first FairWild project this year, with organic FairWild-certified schisandra, where we will be working with our partners at field level.
“I think a good fight always invigorates our industry, such as when the New York Attorney General came after us with DNA barcoding. Coincidentally, the publication [BMC Medicine] just retracted that 2013 article [‘DNA Barcoding detects contamination and substitution in North American herbal products’], 11 years later. And now the industry has challenges to ashwagandha in the EU and UK based upon similarly selectively ignoring evidence and not incorporating actual herbal experts into the evaluation. I believe we have to keep working hard to advocate on behalf of our industry, 24/7. Never forget, those of us actively working with these products are the best spokespersons for our industry, so don’t be shy about sharing all the benefits that our products bring.”
Jennifer Hansgate, Education & Scientific Affairs, EuroPharma:
“EuroPharma, under the leadership of founder and president Terry Lemerond, has been a major supporter of industry trade organizations including the American Botanical Council and American Herbal Products Associations for several decades. Our internal regulatory and scientific affairs team pays close attention to new regulatory initiatives and relays their observations to our independent retailer customers participating in our on-going educational workshops.
“They note that while old-school retailers who have deep roots in the industry are well aware of the impact of DSHEA, and have at least a basic familiarity with its requirements, the same is not always true for newcomers to the natural products business. There are a few tools available for self-education—the Council for Responsible Nutrition’s Roadmap for Retailers comes to mind. But otherwise, it is up to business owners to train their employees on the how and why of regulatory compliance with only their personal knowledge as a resource.
“Why is advocacy more difficult today than in years past? I think there are a number of factors at play, starting with the fact that our independent retailers tell us their number one issue is staffing. They simply do not have the time and mental resources to devote to following pending legislative issues while managing their businesses short-handed. Additionally, there is the significant challenge for industry advocacy organizations to break through social media clutter and gain attention for our industry issues. And finally, because DSHEA exists, I think there is a certain level of complacency that the ‘Wild West’ days are behind us, and we are firmly on an established path with no significant changes anticipated and therefore close attention is not required.
“In order to have advocacy, we must have awareness. I do not have the answers on how to achieve this on behalf of our industry organizations, but EuroPharma will continue to help our independent retailer partners with education on the basics of DSHEA, highlighting legislative initiatives of concern, and encouraging them to pay attention to the activities and information provided by our industry organizations.”
Chris Hortinela, Associate Director of Sustainability, Vitamin Angels:
“We are currently working on global advocacy policies with leading institutions, but we haven’t seen the natural products sector joining the conversation. Vitamin Angels and other stakeholders are advocating for a global, WHO [World Health Organization] recommendation of a multi micronutrient supplement (MMS) for pregnant women. This would be the first time a multivitamin would receive an official policy recommendation from leading public health authorities.
“Governments, NGOs, and academia are behind this movement, with a big uptick of recent activity in terms of funding and advocacy. This represents a massive tipping point for the industry in terms of legitimizing and normalizing supplements to a global audience. We’re lucky to have received so much help from the natural products sector but there is still much work to be done.”
Advocacy & Survival in 2024
With our two installments of DSHEA at 30, we have revealed that industry retailers, brands, and associations see similar advocacy challenges: a larger, unwieldy industry with divergent priorities, short-staffing, ignorance of regulatory threats, fear of creating a high profile that attracts unwanted government scrutiny, and complacency due to the misplaced belief that DSHEA, simply because it exists, will protect us forever. We would do well to remember Ben Franklin’s admonition that preserving liberty requires eternal vigilance.
