In Brief: FDA reform

FDA reform: Health claims provision in Sen. James Jeffords' (R-Vt.) FDA reform bill (S 830) is "troublesome," FDA Lead Deputy Commissioner Michael Friedman, MD, states in written comments prepared for a June 18 meeting of food industry execs. Friedman criticizes the provision, saying "it would allow certain scientific determinations without considering the totality of evidence as FDA now does under current law." Introduced by Sen. Judd Gregg (R.-N.H.), the provision would allow the marketing of food health claims not approved by FDA provided the claims are publicly supported by a scientific department of the U.S. government, such as the National Institutes of Health or the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention ("The Tan Sheet" June 23, p. 14). The provision "could allow an inaccurate, misleading health claim to go to market, and FDA would have to disprove claims after the fact to get it off the label," Friedman concludes...