FDA sets goals for regulating dietary supplementsWASHINGTON, Jan 4 (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday it wanted to expand tracking of serious reactions to herbs, vitamins and other dietary supplements and set new manufacturing standards for the $13 billion industry. The measures are part of a 10-year FDA plan for implementing a 1994 law governing supplements. Completing the far-reaching agenda would require cooperation from Congress, which must provide funding. Joseph Levitt, director of the FDAs Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, said the agency wanted to make consumers confident that dietary supplements are safe and that claims about their powers are supported by scientific evidence. "We want consumers to have high confidence in these products in terms of their safety, composition and labeling," Levitt said in an interview. Supplements are not subject to the same rigorous testing as drugs, but manufacturers face restrictions on how they can promote the products. They cannot claim a product treats or cures a disease without scientific evidence to prove it. Last year, the FDA required supplement makers to put more information on their labels. Among its future plans, the FDA wants to expand its monitoring of serious adverse reactions and coordinate and conduct research on supplements effects, Levitt said. "There needs to be a stronger scientific foundation underlying these products," Levitt said. Levitt said he would announce later this month the agency priorities for this year, adding that he considered publishing so-called "good manufacturing practices" an important step. Industry groups have called for such standards specifically for dietary supplements, which now follow manufacturing standards set for foods. A consumer group welcomed the FDA plan but noted it was only a broad outline and would require a sizable boost in FDA funding from Congress. "It is a list of what needs to be done, but it doesnt indicate what the agency will do," said Bruce Silverglade, director of legal affairs for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a consumer group. "Its also a list that will be quite expensive to implement."
