Editor's note: On the 20th anniversary of the Dietary Supplements Health and Education Act, New Hope Natural Media asked several experts to weigh in on the current regulatory atmosphere in the supplements category. Here, Alkemist Labs' Elan Sudberg gives his take on current supplement regulation and what needs to change about today's system.

Elan Sudberg, CEO

August 12, 2014

1 Min Read
Brands need help navigating DSHEA

Trust is unfortunately a thing of the past and today you must verify. It’s as simple as that. Not that all players in the industry are bad. Most are good. It’s the few bad ones out there that have given need for a constantly evolving regulatory environment. Viktor Frankl said this: ‘When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.’ 

Sometimes this change is painful to the bottom line, but this pain is helping the supplement industry on a global scale to move from a science-less and unsubstantiated perception to one of known government regulation, compliance and quality.

To give all players in the supplement industry a better chance, I would start by putting together an industry task force to write a ‘cGMPs for dummies’ take on current regulations. I hear from so many customers and industry regulars that the laws are unclear. They are either profit-obstructing and ultra-compliant, or unsure of what to do, waiting for the legal hammer to drop and force their compliance. Each and every cGMP consultant I have ever worked with has a different take on levels of compliance, depending on their background.

About the Author(s)

Elan Sudberg

CEO, Alkemist Labs

Élan M. Sudberg is CEO of Alkemist Labs, a passionately committed contract testing laboratory specializing in plant and fungal identity, potency and purity testing for the food, beverage, nutraceutical and psychedelic industries. His favorite part of his job is catching cheaters, and he is known for pushing the industry to continually raise the bar on quality and transparency. Élan holds a degree in chemistry from California State University Long Beach, and he is on the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) board of trustees.

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