Senate votes down Durbin supplement regulation by almost 4 to 1

WASHINGTON — Dietary supplement industry champion Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, last week led efforts to strike down an amendment that would have dramatically overregulated the dietary supplement industry.



The Senate voted 77-20 to table an amendment to the pending FDA Safety and Innovation Act that was proposed by Dick Durbin, D-Ill. The amendment would have expanded the current registration requirements for anyone involved with the manufacturing, processing, packaging or storage of dietary supplements to register with the Food and Drug Administration. The Durbin Amendment also would have required that all registered facilities would need to submit to the FDA a list of all ingredients for each of the products they sell as well as a copy of every label.



Speaking on the Senate Floor in advance of a vote on the Durbin Amendment, Hatch said the Amendment “is based on the misguided presumption that the current regulatory framework for dietary supplements is flawed and that the FDA lacks authority to regulate these products.”  Hatch added that instead of allowing the FDA to utilize the resources it already has under DSHEA, the Durbin Amendment “serves to punish all responsible companies with its overreaching mandates.”



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