Cholesterol management statements for supplements are structure/function claims -- CRN.

CHOLESTEROL MANAGEMENT SUPPLEMENTS STATEMENTS ARE STRUCTURE/FUNCTION CLAIMS, the Council for Responsible Nutrition maintains in a Dec. 1 letter to FDA. A claim that a dietary supplement will prevent or treat heart disease is "clearly a drug claim," CRN acknowledges, and a claim that such a product will reduce the risk of heart disease "may be a health claim subject to" the requirements of the Nutrition Labeling & Education Act. However, the group argues, "a claim that a dietary supplement...will assist in maintaining normal or healthy levels of cholesterol is just as clearly a structure/function claim as is `calcium builds strong bones.'"