With FDA sending DMAA warning letters and thus reigniting the new dietary ingredient (NDI) controversy from last year, industry is ready to ask FDA a few questions, such as, "Are all of our synthetic botanicals at risk of labeled as adulterated?" Luckily, industry members, and anyone else who wishes to, can hear from Daniel Fabricant, Ph.D., Director, Division of Dietary Supplement Programs, FDA, on Tuesday May, 8, at SupplySide MarketPlace in New York.

VIRGO has yet to confirm exactly what Fabricant will address, but my guess is it will be difficult for him to leave without talking about the recent DMAA warning letters FDA sent to 10 companies, or the greater NDI notification issues it brings up.

Fabricant will be sharing the stage with Keith Clancy, Identifier and Botanist with USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). Clancy has never spoken to the dietary supplement, food formulation or cosmetic industries, so his talk is a must see. It's part of the U.S. government's greater goal of helping our industries succeed.

Clancy works at the plant inspection services at JFK Airport in New York; his main responsibility is to identify plants as they are imported to the United States. He said he will talk about what APHIS is, its mission ("to protect the health and value of American agriculture and natural resources"), and the requirements that are necessary to import certain plants into the United States.

"I think it's important that this group has the resources at hand to import plant material," Clancy said. "If they know about APHIS, the regulation and the law beforehand, they can facilitate their importations and have a smoother process importing plant products."

The session is free and open to the public per FDA and USDA's request to keep access to government agencies accessible. It takes place on Tuesday, May 8, from 10:45 to 11:45 a.m. in room 1E13, Javits Center, New York.

Unfortunately, I won't be able to attend because I don't arrive in New York until Tuesday afternoon, but I'll be following Twitter (hashtag #SSM12) to find out what's happening in the session. If you go, please tweet to let the rest of us know what Fabricant and Clancy say. If you're like me and can't attend, follow #SSM12 as well as @SupplySide to get the latest news.

And, please send me a Twitter shout out during the show so we can meet up or let me know of anything interesting you see. Find me using @SandyAlmendarez.