January 21, 2016

Vitamin Supplement Industry has Minimal Oversight, No Standards




[From article]
And unlike prescription drugs, which pass through a strict premarket approval process, the Food and Drug Administration does not evaluate a supplement’s contents or effectiveness before it hits the shelves. Even then, the agency has only a modest capacity to test the pills.
The result is a more than $30 billion industry that is largely regulated by the honor system.
Given this framework, there is little to guarantee that any vitamin, mineral, probiotic, sports supplement, herbal treatment, or other dietary supplement is safe, effective, or even contains what’s on its label.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/five-questions-to-ask-when-considering-health-supplements/

Five Questions To Ask When Considering Health Supplements
JANUARY 19, 2016
by KATIE WORTH Tow Journalism Fellow,
FRONTLINE
Columbia Journalism School Fellowships

FRONTLINE, The New York Times and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation examine the hidden dangers of vitamins and supplements, a multibillion-dollar industry with limited FDA oversight.
produced by NEIL DOCHERTY

[link to complete 54 minute video]

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/supplements-and-safety/

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