Hatch Bill to target steroid-loaded supplements
Food inspectors will be working with drug enforcement agents to identify dietary supplements spiked with steroids, under a new legislation unveiled recently by Sen. Orrin Hatch.
The bill, co-sponsored with Democratic Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin, is in a response to a campaign by the major sports leagues and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.
From Sltrib.com:
Travis Tygart, the CEO of the Anti-Doping Agency, called the bill “a great step forward.” He said he’s glad the senators recognized the need for legislation to fill in the gaps in the law and help protect consumers.
For months, the Anti-Doping Agency has argued that it’s too easy for dishonest supplement makers to slip steroids into their products and get away with it. They asked McCain to sponsor legislation that would require supplement makers to provide proof that their products were safe. Companies would also have had to hand over any customer complaint to the government.
Hatch, one of the biggest supporters of supplements in Congress, protested, saying McCain’s bill would increase costs to make supplements and reduce their availability to the public.
McCain, Hatch and their co-sponsors struck an agreement around four issues.
They agreed to increase cooperation between the DEA and the Food and Drug Administration, while also requiring the FDA to speed up rules on what constitutes a new dietary ingredient and any tests to determine its safety.
Those two items are part of the new Hatch-Harkin legislation.
Dietary supplement industry associations and players’ associations for Major League Baseball and the National Football League are supporting the new bill, as per Hatch’s office.
Tags: dietary supplements, drug enforcement, Steroids, supplements
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