In recognition of the 15th anniversary since the passage of DSHEA, INSIDER spoke to several people who had a hand in some part of DSHEA’s creation and/or passage. Patricia Knight is the founder of Knight Capital Consulting LLC and former chief of staff for Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), one of the main supporters of dietary supplement industry causes. She was instrumental in the development and passage of DSHEA. Peter Reinecke is a principal at Reinecke Strategic Solutions and former chief of staff for Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), another industry advocate. He has a background in health policy and helped write and promote DHSEA in Congress.
INSIDER: While the passage of DSHEA 15 years ago likely feels like a long time ago, can you still recall all the excitement surrounding its passage?
Patricia Knight : You know, 1994 seems like both yesterday and a hundred years ago. I had just joined Sen. Hatch’s staff in 1993 when I was assigned to this bill. It was the first major legislation I handled for him, and in many ways it established the friendship and admiration that Sen. Hatch and I enjoy to this day. Many of the people I worked with on this legislation are close friends and advisors even now, including some of the legends who worked on this bill: Peter Reinecke, Loren Israelsen, Scott Bass, Kay Holcombe, Bill Schultz, Mark Childress, Kevin McGuiness, Jack Martin, Steve McNamara … to name just a few.
Peter Reinecke : In terms of DSHEA, while we’ve seen some recent improvements in its implementation—with inspections underway for the new GMPs (good manufacturing practices) and some stepped up enforcement of clear violations—it is really still a law in its “adolescence.” It has not reached a mature state of being fully implemented and enforced. Dietary supplement consumers and industry would benefit from the full implementation and enforcement of DSHEA.
INSIDER: How did Senators Hatch and Harkin come to be involved in this fight?
Knight : Sen. Hatch had a long interest in supplement issues for two main reasons. First, he represents a state that has the largest concentration of dietary supplement manufacturers in the country, over a hundred in Utah I believe. And second, he has a tremendous interest in personal fitness and healthy lifestyles, and it is a commitment he takes very seriously.
Reinecke : Sen. Harkin also has a great commitment to good health, especially health promotion and disease prevention efforts. That is a key focus of his work on health care reform and it has really shaped the direction of the current effort in the Senate. He believes a key to changing our current “sick care” system is to make sure people have tools they need to keep healthy through good diet, exercise, reduced stress and appropriate use of supplements.
