WASHINGTON, D.C. – Director of Government Affairs for the Natural Products Association (NPA) Kyle Turk testified against a California bill that will place a costly burden on small businesses who have already been hard hit by the COVID-19 health and economic crisis. Turk’s testimony can be viewed here.
“We support efforts to stop illegal drugs masquerading as natural products being sold to consumers, especially minors. The federal government has vast enforcement powers and has a long track record of punishing criminals who break the law. We support vigorous enforcement of the law to protect consumers. Still, this legislation will not accomplish that and will work against existing law that is well-designed to protect consumers,” said Turk.
The bill’s sponsors claim that the legislation is necessary because of an association between dietary supplements and eating disorders, yet no such association has been proven by a review of the most authoritative publicly-available data. NPA recently filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to determine if any such association existed and found no adverse events or reporting associated with dietary supplements and eating disorders.
The bill also targets natural ingredients called thermogenics, which are found in foods and beverages we use every day, like caffeine in coffee, catechins found in green tea or beans. This legislation also targets lipotropics, which are found in healthy and recommended foods, including lean cuts of beef, chicken, turkey and in fish like salmon.
