"Recommended Servings Per Day" Explanation On Supplement Labels Advised
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
The inclusion of information explaining "recommended servings per day" within the "Supplement Facts" box on dietary supplement labels is recommended by the Consumer Healthcare Products Association in March 29 comments to FDA.
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The inclusion of information explaining "recommended servings per day" within the "Supplement Facts" box on dietary supplement labels is recommended by the Consumer Healthcare Products Association in March 29 comments to FDA. The comments support the agency's recent proposal to allow "per day" nutrition information on supplement product labeling and advise the addition of a statement describing how many dosage units equal a day's serving. "A paragraph listing of 'Recommended Servings Per Day (insert amount)' would specify a per day amount that could easily be used to calculate the total per day amount based on the 'per unit' column of information," CHPA explains. "Including a phrase such as '(multiply per caplet amounts by [insert the number of per day servings] for per day amount)' under the 'per unit' heading explicitly instructs the consumers on how to define the total per day amount," the association adds. Allowing the "total per day amount to be expressed in either paragraph form - to offset the additional space consumed by a larger supplements facts box - or in column format would permit companies to optimize type size of dietary supplement labels for even better label readability," the comments maintain. FDA's Jan. 12 proposed rule would amend the labeling to provide the quantitative amount and the percent daily value of a supplement on a "per day" basis in addition to the required "per serving" basis ("The Tan Sheet" Jan. 18, p. 12). Under the proposal, companies could voluntarily affix a "per day" ingredient amount to supplement labeling displaying the quantitative amount of nutrients or other components the product provides in a single day. The proposal was developed in response to a citizen petition submitted by Amway's Nutrilite division. CHPA, which recently adopted its new name to reflect its expanded membership of dietary supplement manufacturers and marketers, agrees the use of "per day" information should be optional and suggests the labeling change "be allowed on an interim basis prior to issuance of a final rule, because it is not misleading and it is useful to consumers to help them optimize product use." |