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Public safety and dietary supplementation
Author(s) -
Gershwin M. Eric,
Borchers Andrea T.,
Keen Carl L.,
Hendler Sheldon,
Hagie Frank,
Greenwood M.R.C.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
annals of the new york academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.712
H-Index - 248
eISSN - 1749-6632
pISSN - 0077-8923
DOI - 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.05270.x
Subject(s) - confusion , food and drug administration , business , dietary supplement , food safety , quality (philosophy) , environmental health , microbiology and biotechnology , marketing , medicine , risk analysis (engineering) , food science , biology , psychology , psychoanalysis , philosophy , epistemology
Approximately 6 in 10 Americans report regularly using some type of dietary supplement, and approximately 1 in 6 Americans reports using herbal remedies on a regular basis. The diversity of manufacturers, manufacturing processes, and quality control issues are enormous. As with all plant products, herbal products are complex mixtures of a variety of chemical constituents with considerable variation in the growth, harvesting, and storage conditions, including different extraction procedures. Furthermore, not only is there variation in batches, but also the potential for contamination. In addition, herbal products have the potential to interact with pharmaceuticals. These problems have led to consumer and physician confusion about the use of herbal products and have not been satisfactorily resolved, because the Food and Drug Administration has only very recently started to fulfill its mission of consumer protection in the realm of dietary supplements. More importantly, we provide a working plan for addressing this important issue.