Dear XXX,

Thank you for contacting me to express your views on the Dietary Supplement Safety Act of 2010. It is an honor to serve as your Senator, and I appreciate hearing from you.

As you may know, under current law, dietary supplements are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as food products rather than as drugs. While FDA must certify the safety and effectiveness of pharmaceuticals before they enter the market, it is not required to pre-approve dietary supplements. Instead, FDA has the authority to monitor the safety of these supplements once on they are on market.

The Dietary Supplement Safety Act, S. 3002, would give FDA greater authority over the regulation of dietary supplements. If enacted, this legislation would require manufacturers of dietary supplements to be registered with FDA and to provide FDA with specific information on their products. The legislation would also add a requirement that would require dietary supplement manufacturers to report all cases of non-serious adverse reactions to supplements to FDA in a specified amount of time. Finally, the legislation would give FDA the authority to recall dietary supplements from the market. Currently, this legislation is pending before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee. As a member of that Committee, please know I am closely monitoring the bill's progress and will keep your views in mind if our Committee takes up this or related legislation.

Thank you, again, for sharing your thoughts with me. I hope you will continue to keep me informed about the issues that matter most to you.

All my best,

Jeff Merkley
United States Senate