Regulating Dietary Supplements

According to, http://www.toxicology.org/gp/fda.asp, the Society of Toxicology website, in 1937 the Massengill pharmaceutical company dispersed Elixir Sulfanilamide. This drug was prescribed generally to anyone who had symptoms of strep throat. Elixir Sulfanilamide contains diethylene glycol, which is a chemical equivalent of antifreeze. There were 107 documented deaths, involving many children, because of the lack in regulations. The Pure Food and Drug Act was deemed to insufficient to protect the public. This tragedy was the critical motivation for the creation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

Before the Pure Food and Drug Act, companies could add whatever they wanted to their products and consumers did not know what is was. “They use everything about the hog except the squeal.” (Sinclair 35) There was false advertising, false claims and most of the time food was adulterated and had dangerously unsafe preservatives. “Borax compounds...were used to make old butter seem like new...the effects of borax included nausea and loss of appetite, symptoms resembling those of influenza and overburdened kidneys”(Carson 1) In addition to borax, common

The FDA has come a long way since 1906, but in my opinion, I believe that the FDA should do more to protect our health and have stricter laws in place concerning our food and medicines. The FDA allows products to be on the market without prior approval; for the FDA to take action and recall a product something awful like multiple deaths have to happen for them to realize that the product is harmful. Prime example, Red #3 is food coloring that FDA permits in our food to make the food look appealing. However, studies done on animals have proven to show that Red #3 causes cancer. According to an article published in 1990 in the New York Times states that "Red Dye No. 3 still has some approved uses in foods and drugs, but the F.D.A. said it is

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is best known for its role on protecting the health of the public by making sure that food, medications are safe and effective. Especially when it comes to the pharmaceutical industry, its mission is to regulate pharmaceutical manufacturers, as well as the drug approval process. However, in the recent years, many arguments and controversy regarding drug development and regulation have risen. Drug advertisements make false and misleading claims, products are being put out on the market without any proof of safety, causing many unwanted incidents such as the Avandia incident and Vioxx incident, which could have been prevented in the first place.

Evidently, the people who are a part of the Nutritional community are focused on living a healthy and lasting life. For example, a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and grain products that contain dietary fiber, particularly soluble fiber, and low in saturated fat and cholesterol may reduce the risk of heart disease (Food). Whether they would like to gain, lose, or maintain their weight they refer to this label which is ultimately the deciding factor as to whether or not they will purchase/use the product.

14. Dietary supplements do not require government approval before entering the market, and manufacturers alone decide whether their products are safe and effective.

health claims. Why? Because a health claim of a food product is a strong indication that It 's

With having true genuine intentions in eating healthy people fall into the ideas advertised by cooperation’s that their products are healthy. Food corporations protect themselves through ingredient secrecy and even through the FDA because they are not required by law to disclose their ingredients; however, the chemicals used need to be considered by the FDA to be Generally Regarded As Safe (Schlosser 25). People should take responsibility in the research of the food products they consume; therefore, allowing an individual to be wise and informed of what their really consuming. Maybe, instead of cutting corners in trying to eat healthy with false idealistic advertisement consumers should consider eating fresh fruits, vegetables, and cooking ingredients. Consumers should like the author Pollan suggested in his rules of thumb: avoid food products unfamiliar, unpronounceable ingredients, and products containing more than five ingredients (Pollan

The Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938: Sulfonamide tested for flavor and fragrance but not safety, children died and 350 more were poisoned. This act made it so the sale of unsafe drugs could be stopped, that toxic drugs could be seized, and the burden of proof was given to the manufactures to show data of safety experiments.

the main ingredient for a no-FDA approved ingredient. This case would be an intentional tort. Intentional torts are defined as a civil wrong resulting from an intentional act committed by the person, property, or economic interest of another. Intentional torts include assault, battery, conversion, false

The Pure Food and Drugs Act was passed, authorizing the government to monitor the purity of foods and the safety of medicines, now a responsibility of the FDA.

Before the Progressive Era, many times food and water was unsafe and unclean. In many cases, medicines were not labelled, so they were not always trustworthy and effective. In 1906, the “Pure Food and Drug Act” passed stating that items could not be sold if they were mislabeled and manufacturers must have the ingredients list on the item. Another act passed was the “Meat Inspection Act” which was similar to the previous act stating the item must be labelled correctly and processed in clean environments. Because of these acts, we can trust ouyr food

Staying with food. You can find many other examples with Aspertame, Fluoride, BPA's, and HFC's to name a few. But many will question your skepticism against the FDA. Why group drugs with food anyway?

While health foods stores attract consumers to purchase health supplements, many manufacturers use health food stores to promote their bogus products. In March 1999, the FTC filed a complaint in federal court against the makers of Vitamin O. The company ran false ads claiming the Vitamin O supplement prevents cancer, heart, and lung disease by adding an extra oxygen supplement to the bloodstream. With no scientific evidence to prove the benefits of Vitamin O, the two companies from Washington agreed to a settlement of $375,000 for consumer compensation. The settlement prohibited the Vitamin O manufacturers from making claims that were unsupported about the Vitamin O health benefits. Testimonials and endorsements of product represented through previous experience from members of the public who used the product were also prohibited in the settlement. In conclusion, marketing agents with false science beliefs have one common goal: To sell! We as consumers must be aware and informed of unknown supplements that claims to have a great deal of impact to your life. These products are known for its testimonials by doctors and actors that make claims of using the product. Pseudoscience supplements have caused serious illnesses and even death due to consumers lack of knowledge when purchasing these products. It is strongly recommended that consumers research the companies and the product that advertise false products very carefully before purchasing a supplement that claims to

Throughout the years, there has been an incredible amount of speculation as to what ingredients are being put into the food we consume. The same food manufactured by major food corporations that can only be approved by the FDA. There are many techniques that these food corporations can use in order to gain consumer loyalty, but the main focus is the way their advertising works. Along with these advertisements, comes a target market as well. The food industry is constantly in speculation because there are always new foods that corporations want approved to sell. Some of these businesses are part of the fast food industry and others are international food companies that sell their products around the world. As adults and parents, we need to