The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the Global Retailer and Manufacturer Alliance (GRMA) recently hosted a Dietary Supplements Stakeholder meeting in Washington, D.C., focused on how to advance the quality and safety of products marketed as dietary supplements in the United States in the interest of protecting public health.
Held on December 6, the event included over 60 attendees representing a wide range of stakeholders who were provided updates on industry-led efforts to advance safety, quality, and trust throughout the dietary supplements supply chain. Discussions also highlighted current standards and conformity assessment-related efforts to address quality and related issues.
Following an introduction by Joe Bhatia, President and CEO of ANSI, attendees heard brief remarks from representatives of key alliances, collaboratives and initiatives in the dietary supplement space - the Supplement Safety & Compliance Initiative (SSCI), the Council for Responsible Nutrition, the Dietary Supplements Quality Collaborative (DSQC), and GRMA. Participants engaged in a lively question and answer session with presenters, and then moved to a moderated discussion of possible opportunities for further collaboration and harmonization and next steps.
The dietary supplement market, shaped by critical technological, social, and regulatory shifts, is growing rapidly. Market insights show that in 2016, the global market for dietary supplements was valued at over $133.8 billionand projected to grow to $220 billion by 2021, according to Zion Research.
The dietary supplement market surge is tied to rapid growth in sports and herbal supplements, and vitamins.
Consistent with its mission to enhance both the global competitiveness of U.S. business and the U.S. quality of life, ANSI promotes the broad benefits of the voluntary consensus standards process, supported by internationally recognized conformity assessment programs. ANSI frequently acts in a convenor role - bringing together private and public sector constituencies for a reasoned, respectful discussion of standards and compliance-related issues and opportunities in a sector or area of interest.
GRMA approached ANSI last year and asked for its cooperation in convening just such a broad stakeholder meeting in the dietary supplements space and both agreed that this was a good idea. A key part of the December stakeholder meeting was to better understand how the various stakeholder efforts and initiatives in the dietary supplements sector can best collaborate to deliver the certainty and confidence that regulators, industry and consumers are looking for in the dietary supplements space.
Interested stakeholders included manufacturers, retailers, government agencies, trade and professional associations, consumer interest groups, and other organizations.
Interactive panel discussions and audience participation provided an outline on priorities and gaps and there was general consensus to convene a follow-up meeting, hosted by ANSI in the next 4-6 months with additional outreach to more stakeholders.
Stakeholders can access more information about getting involved in an upcoming follow-up event by contacting Kelley Cox, ANSI membership: [email protected] and to access ANSI's Dietary Supplements Executive Summary.