What type of claims can be made about dietary supplement products?
Under the law, manufacturers of dietary supplement have three different categories of claims that can be used for dietary supplements: health claims, structure/function claims, and nutrient content claims. Of course, all of these claims must be truthful and not misleading. • Health claims describe the connection between a nutrient or food substance and a disease or health-related condition. FDA must authorize a claim based on a review of scientific evidence or based on a statement from certain authoritative scientific bodies. FDA recently announced a new science-based labeling process that will use expertise from other government agencies or information from companies to review qualified health claims before they appear in food (including dietary supplements) labeling. While qualified health claims are not actually approved by FDA under the normal standard, the Agency permits their use provided they are accompanied with appropriate disclaimers to ensure their truthfulness. The goal of
