Animation: CHPA’s Priorities for DSHEA Modernization

As consumers take control of their healthcare routines, more people are turning to dietary supplements to provide a boost to their wellbeing. This trend of increased dietary supplement use, only accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, grew the market an estimated 14.5 percent in 2020 – the largest rate of growth since 1997.

But despite the immense growth of this industry, there is still a common misconception that dietary supplements are not regulated by the government. The reality is that the Dietary Supplement Health & Education Act (DSHEA) of 1994 established a regulatory framework where none existed before, and the industry is regulated by multiple government agencies, with manufacturers and retailers also managing responsibility throughout the process.

However, since DSHEA was enacted in 1994, the industry has grown from 4,000 products and $4 billion a year in sales to as many as 80,000 products and $50 billion in sales, according to FDA. And while a lot has changed in our world and industry since then, FDA’s resources and regulatory capacity have remained unchanged since 1994.

Modernized regulations are needed to meet growing consumer demand, strengthen confidence in dietary supplements, and keep pace with the growth of the industry. Watch our new animation to learn about CHPA’s priorities for modernizing the regulation of dietary supplements.