WASHINGTON–Citizens for Health (CFH) met its goal to obtain 10,000 signatures in 10 days calling for Congress to withhold FDA appropriations until the agency withdraws the New Dietary Ingredient (NDI) Draft Guidance. CFH representatives will deliver the petition, which was signed by 10,320 Americans, to The U.S. House of Representatives, The U.S. Senate, FDA and President Barack Obama on Dec. 2.
The petition drive was supported by New Zealand rapper and activist Jody Lloyd, aka “Trillion," who re-mastered CFH’s “10,000 Signatures" video for YouTube.
In July, FDA issued its “Draft Guidance for Industry: Dietary Supplements: New Dietary Ingredient Notifications and Related Issues." The agency issued the guidance to clarify requirements for filing NDI notifications (NDINs). The deadline to submit comments on the Draft Guidance is Dec. 2.
CFH said FDA is attempting to change existing law and took particular issue with FDA's assertion that NDINs are required for each finished product with and NDI, rather than for each new ingredient as it's introduced to the market. CFH said the Draft Guidance, as it stands, would cause a disruption in the dietary supplement market, force a significant number of products off the shelves, and result in revenue losses of more than a billion dollars and the unemployment of more than 100,000 Americans.
