
What is the DSHEA Act of 1994?
President Bill Clinton signed DSHEA into law on October 25, 1994. DSHEA codified dietary supplements as a distinct subset of food, and clarified that “dietary ingredients” in supplements are not “food additives” but have a separate and distinct safety standard.
What is DSHEA and why is it important?
DSHEA is the acronym for the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994. The law provides FDA with appropriate regulatory authority and ample enforcement tools to protect consumers while still allowing them the desired access to a wide variety of affordable, high quality, safe and beneficial dietary supplement products.
What is the dhsea?
The DHSEA also provides for the enforcement of good manufacturing practices by the FDA among the members of the dietary supplement industry in the United States. The failure of a manufacturer to prepare, package, or store its products in reasonably safe conditions is a violation of the statute.
Should DSHEA be amended?
Defending DSHEA from attacks by the media, the pharmaceutical industry and elected officials who prefer a pre-market approval approach is a top priority for ANH-USA! ANH-USA has prepared the following primer to help educate those who believe DSHEA should be amended “because supplements are not adequately regulated.” What is DSHEA?

When was the DSHEA established?
October 25, 1994Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994Long titleA bill to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to establish standards with respect to dietary supplements, and for other purposes.Acronyms (colloquial)DSHEAEnacted bythe 103rd United States CongressEffectiveOctober 25, 1994Citations9 more rows
When did Congress pass the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act?
1994Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to define a "dietary supplement" as a product: (1) other than tobacco, intended to supplement the diet that contains a vitamin, mineral, herb or botanical, dietary substance, or a concentrate, metabolite, constituent, ...
Why was the DSHEA passed?
The DSHEA was enacted by Congress following public debate concerning the importance of dietary supplements in promoting health, the need for consumers to have access to current and accurate information about supple- ments, and controversy over the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) regulatory approach to this product ...
What did the 1994 Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act do?
The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA) provides for the use of ingredients in products for human consumption meeting the statutory definition of a dietary supplement that are not necessarily GRAS, approved food additives, or otherwise sanctioned for use in food in conventional form.
How did DSHEA change the supplement industry?
DSHEA specifically reaffirmed the status of dietary supplements as a category of food and created a specific definition for dietary supplements. DSHEA made it clear that ingredients of dietary supplements could not be regulated as food additives.
Which of the following is the legislative act passed in 1994 that regulates the dietary supplement industry?
Public Law 103-417. 103rd Congress. To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to establish standards with respect to dietary supplements, and for other purposes.
What is required by DSHEA legislation?
The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) requires that a manufacturer or distributor notify FDA in advance and submit safety information if it intends to market a dietary supplement in the United States that contains a "new dietary ingredient," unless the new dietary ingredient is present in the food ...
Is DSHEA a law?
What is the DSHEA? The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 was enacted to prohibit dietary supplement manufacturers and distributors from making false claims, such as "natural" and "therapeutic," on supplement labels. The law also prohibits the manufacture and sale of adulterated dietary supplements.
Are dietary supplements FDA approved?
Dietary supplements are regulated by the FDA as food, not as drugs. However, many dietary supplements contain ingredients that have strong biological effects which may conflict with a medicine you are taking or a medical condition you may have.
What is DSHEA law?
DSHEA is the acronym for the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994. The law provides FDA with appropriate regulatory authority and ample enforcement tools to protect consumers while still allowing them the desired access to a wide variety of affordable, high quality, safe and beneficial dietary supplement products. CRN supports strong enforcement of DSHEA and continues to urge for full enactment of the law.
When was dietary supplement grandfathered?
DSHEA grandfathered all dietary supplement ingredients marketed in the United States before October 15, 1994. These are considered safe for continued consumer use.
When did the GMPs come out?
The supplement-specific GMP rules were released in June 2007 with a three-year “phase in” compliance period. By June 2010, all manufacturers were expected to fully comply with the new rules. Responsible companies in the industry have fully supported the need for dietary supplements GMPs in order to create a level playing field for companies ...
Is DSHEA a category of food?
CRN supports strong enforcement of DSHEA and continues to urge for full enactment of the law. DSHEA specifically reaffirmed the status of dietary supplements as a category of food and created a specific definition for dietary supplements. DSHEA made it clear that ingredients of dietary supplements could not be regulated as food additives.
When did DSHEA become law?
President Bill Clinton signed DSHEA into law on October 25, 1994. DSHEA codified dietary supplements as a distinct subset of food, and clarified that “dietary ingredients” in supplements are not “food additives” but have a separate and distinct safety standard. This change was critical because, unlike food additives, dietary supplements normally don’t have to satisfy premarket notification requirements. As a result, manufacturers generally do not have to submit scientific evidence demonstrating safety prior to marketing a dietary supplement unless it contains a “new dietary ingredient.” New dietary ingredients are ingredients not marketed in the United States prior to DSHEA. Any manufacturer or distributor of a new dietary ingredient must submit to FDA a 75-day premarket notification containing safety data.
When did the dietary supplement act become law?
It’s hard to remember, but dietary supplements were almost regulated out of existence before Congress passed the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) in October 1994.
When was DSHEA created?
II. DSHEA. President Bill Clinton signed DSHEA into law on October 25, 1994.
When did DSHEA become law?
President Bill Clinton signed DSHEA into law on October 25, 1994. DSHEA codified dietary supplements as a distinct subset of food, and clarified that “dietary ingredients” in supplements are not “food additives” but have a separate and distinct safety standard. This change was critical because, unlike food additives, dietary supplements normally don’t have to satisfy premarket notification requirements. As a result, manufacturers generally do not have to submit scientific evidence demonstrating safety prior to marketing a dietary supplement unless it contains a “new dietary ingredient.” New dietary ingredients are ingredients not marketed in the United States prior to DSHEA. Any manufacturer or distributor of a new dietary ingredient must submit to FDA a 75-day premarket notification containing safety data.
What was the FDA's role in the 1970s?
Antagonism between the FDA and what later became known as the dietary supplement industry continued during the 1970s as the FDA attempted to restrict the sale of high-potency vitamins and minerals. In the 1980s and early 1990s, the tension between the two camps continued, as the use of health claims on food labels proliferated and ...
What is DSHEA law?
DSHEA, the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994, is the law which protects our access to dietary supplements and to truthful information about them; it also provides for the quality and safety of supplements.
When was the Health Freedom Act passed?
In 1992 , the Health Freedom Act was introduced in the Senate by Sen. Orrin Hatch, along with a similar bill in the House of Representatives, to protect the rights of U.S. citizens to choose safe and effective dietary supplements.
Why did the FDA start the Health Freedom Act?
The FDA was given the job of implementing the law, but because of its broad wording, the agency began to capitalize on the opportunity to over-regulate safe and beneficial nutritional products. In 1992, the Health Freedom Act was introduced ...
When was the first version of the Health Freedom Act introduced?
Those are a few examples of the long fuse that burned up to 1992 when the first version of DSHEA called ‘The Health Freedom Act’ was introduced.”. The agency took the position that all supplements that did not have what it considered defined nutritional value were unapproved food additives.
What happened in 1992?
On May 6th 1992, in what is today remembered as the Tahoma Clinic Raid, the FDA stormed Wright’s clinic with armed sheriffs who terrorized patients and seized vitamins, equipment and medical records. “The raid made no sense,” noted Israelsen. “There was no rational explanation.

§2. findings.
- Congress finds that - 1. (1) improving the health status of United States citizens ranks at the top of the national priorities of the Federal Government; 2. (2) the importance of nutrition and the benefits of dietary supplements to health promotion and disease prevention have been docume…
§3. Definitions.
- (a) Definition of Certain Foods as Dietary Supplements.Section 201 (21 U.S.C. 321) is amended by adding at the end the following:
§4. Safety of Dietary Supplements and Burden of Proof on FDA.
- Section 402 (21 U.S.C. 342) is amended by adding at the end the following: 1. “(f)(1) If it is a dietary supplement or contains a dietary ingredient that - 2. (2) Before the Secretary may report to a United States attorney a violation of paragraph (1)(A) for a civil proceeding, the person against whom such proceeding would be initiated shall be given appropriate notice and the opportunity t…
§5. Dietary Supplement Claims.
- Chapter IV (21 U.S.C. 341 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 403A the following new section: 1. ”Sec. 403B. (a) IN GENERAL.-A publication, including an article, a chapter in a book, or an official abstract of a peer-reviewed scientific publication that appears in an article and was prepared by the author or the editors of the publication, which is reprinted in its entirety, shall no…
§6. Statements of Nutritional Support.
- Section 403(r) (21 U.S.C. 343(r)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 1. “(6) For purposes of paragraph (r)(1)(B), a statement for a dietary supplement may be made if -
§7. Dietary Supplement Ingredient Labeling and Nutrition Information Labeling.
- (a) MISBRANDED SUPPLEMENTS. -Section 403 (21 U.S.C. 343) is amended by adding at the end the following: “(s) If -
- (b) Supplement Listing on Nutrition Labeling.Section 403(q)(5)(F) (21 U.S.C. 343(q)(5)(F)) is amended to read as follows:
- (c) Percentage Level Claims.Section 403(r)(2) (21 U.S.C. 343(r)(2)) is amended by adding aft…
- (a) MISBRANDED SUPPLEMENTS. -Section 403 (21 U.S.C. 343) is amended by adding at the end the following: “(s) If -
- (b) Supplement Listing on Nutrition Labeling.Section 403(q)(5)(F) (21 U.S.C. 343(q)(5)(F)) is amended to read as follows:
- (c) Percentage Level Claims.Section 403(r)(2) (21 U.S.C. 343(r)(2)) is amended by adding after clause (E) the following:
- (d) Vitamins and Minerals.Section 411(b)(2) (21 U.S.C. 350(b)(2)) is amended -
§8. New Dietary Ingredients.
- Chapter IV of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act is amended by adding at the end the following: 1. ”SEC. 413. (a) IN GENERAL.-A dietary supplement which contains a new dietary ingredient shall be deemed adulterated under section 402(f) unless it meets one of the following requirements: 2. ”(b) PETITION. -Any person may file with the Secretary a petition proposing the i…
§9. Good Manufacturing Practices.
- Section 402 (21 U.S.C. 342), as amended by section 4, is amended by adding at the end the following: 1. “(g)(1) If it is a dietary supplement and it has been prepared, packed, or held under conditions that do not meet current good manufacturing practice regulations, including regulations requiring, when necessary, expiration date labeling, issued by the Secretary under su…
§10. Conforming Amendments.
- (a) SECTION 201 -The last sentence of section 201(g)(1) (21 U.S.C. 321(g)(1)) is amended to read as follows: “A food or dietary supplement for which a claim, subject to sections 403(r)(1)(B) and 40...
- (b) SECTION 301 -Section 301 (21 U.S.C. 331) is amended by adding at the end the following: (u) The introduction or delivery for introduction into interstate commerce of a dietary supple…
- (a) SECTION 201 -The last sentence of section 201(g)(1) (21 U.S.C. 321(g)(1)) is amended to read as follows: “A food or dietary supplement for which a claim, subject to sections 403(r)(1)(B) and 40...
- (b) SECTION 301 -Section 301 (21 U.S.C. 331) is amended by adding at the end the following: (u) The introduction or delivery for introduction into interstate commerce of a dietary supplement that i...
- (c) SECTION 403 -Section 403 (21 U.S.C. 343), as amended by section 7, is amended by adding after paragraph (s) the following: “A dietary supplement shall not be deemed misbranded solely because it...
Overview
The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 ("DSHEA"), is a 1994 statute of United States Federal legislation which defines and regulates dietary supplements. Under the act, supplements are effectively regulated by the FDA for Good Manufacturing Practices under 21 CFR Part 111.
Background
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the American Congress was evaluating several bills which would have increased the powers of the FDA. One of these acts, the Nutrition Advertising Coordination Act of 1991 would have tightened the regulations regarding supplement labeling. In response to the proposed bill, many health food companies began lobbying the government to vote down the laws and told the public that the FDA would ban dietary supplements. A notable a…
Definition of supplement
DSHEA defines the term "dietary supplement" to mean a product (other than tobacco) intended to supplement the diet that bears or contains one or more dietary ingredients, including a vitamin, a mineral, an herb or other botanical, an amino acid, a dietary substance for use by human to supplement the diet by increasing the total dietary intake, or a concentrate, metabolite, constituent, extract, or combination of any of the aforementioned ingredients. Furthermore, a die…
Dietary supplement labels
A "label" is a display of written, printed, or graphic material on the supplement container. DSHEA and other federal regulations require the following information to appear on dietary supplement labels:
• a statement of identity that contains the words "dietary supplement." The word "dietary" may be replaced by the name of the dietary ingredient (e.g., "ginseng supplement")
Regulatory review
Under the act, supplement manufacturers do not need to receive FDA approval before marketing dietary supplements that were marketed in the United States before 1994. Dietary ingredients not so grandfathered are defined as New Dietary Ingredients in 21 U.S.C. 350b(d), and notifications of providing reasonable evidence of their safety, or reasonable expectations of their safety, must be reviewed (not approved) by the FDA prior to their marketing. The herbal supplement industry ha…
Reception
Some research has noted that there is scarce safety information available to the public about dietary supplements on the market. Other research has shown that the FDA has an insufficient network in the dietary supplement marketplace for responding to reports of adverse events.
Supplement manufacturers and supplement consumer advocacy groups have generally welcomed the act, saying that the act protects consumers rights to readily have access to suppl…
See also
• Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations
• Dietary supplement
External links
• Commission on Dietary Supplement Labels: Final Report Transmitted November 24, 1997
• "Dietary Supplements". Food. U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
• Richard E. Nowak, "DSHEA’S Failure: Why A Proactive Approach To Dietary Supplement Regulation Is Needed To Effectively Protect Consumers"