Full Two-Day Conference Now Available for Purchase
WASHINGTON, D.C. – This year’s Big Natural, hosted virtually by the Natural Products Association (NPA), brought together a record number attendees and the leading experts and regulators in the natural products industry. UFC Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier delivered the keynote address where he spoke about his life both inside and outside of the ring, and what he is doing to stay healthy and in shape in retirement.
“We did things differently this year, but we are very pleased with the way the event turned out,” said Daniel Fabricant, Ph.D., president and CEO of NPA. “All the of the feedback has been positive, and once again we showed that The Big Natural is the premier event for the natural products industry.”
Top industry executives including NPA board chairman Mark LeDoux broke news when they lamented the FDA for not doing enough to target unlawful activity in the industry, according to reports from Natural Products Insider. “Keeping FDA accountable is like nailing Jell-O to the wall,” said LeDoux. “It’s problematic in that it doesn’t want to stay in one place at any given time.”
Stephen Northrup, a lobbyist for NPA, described the Agency as “chronically underfunded” and that it has “been less than accountable with the funds” it receives. Aaron Secrist, executive vice president of quality, R&D and operations for NOW Health Group, suggested that the FDA be held accountable by being required to meet certain deliverables. “We need to figure out a way to tie what we get from the agency to what they’re given, and the only way to do that really is … to put some pressure on our congressional representatives to say, ‘Hey, we’ll give you more money or we’ll fund your budget this year, but these are the deliverables that you have to come back and report on,’” Secrist said.
CBD enforcement was also on the agenda, featuring the top regulator for the supplement industry at the Federal Trade Commission Richard Cleland. Cleland said that despite getting “sidetracked with COVID,” FTC intends to bring enforcement actions against CBD firms, according to reporting from Natural Products Insider.
Other highlights of the event included:
- Representatives from GNC, Walmart, and NOW Foods highlight the launching of SCCI.
- Probiotic industry leaders signal frustrations with lack of guidance from the FDA
- State legislators and regulators discussed how they have provided a regulatory pathway for CBD at the state-level.
Both NPA members and non-members have the opportunity to purchase the full replay of the Big Natural and receive access to the entire program’s presentations, including [PowerPoints/handouts/etc]. Please email natural@npanational.org to purchase a replay of The Big Natural today.
