I really don’t mean to be too political, but I received another “Call to Action” in my email today regarding the potential power-grab going on by the FTC that I thought you may want to know about.
As I understand it, basically it boils down to this: the House and Senate are in the final stages of hammering out their differences in the Financial Services Reform (S.3217) legislation. The House version included a provision that would greatly expand the powers of the Federal Trade Commission (note the Senate version did NOT include these expanded powers).
Why does this have people in the Natural Products industry so worried? Because it could allow the FTC to essentially set their own rules that are inconsistent with what is allowed under DSHEA and FDA. That’s right, the FTC could actually come after dietary supplements and other health foods with more power than the FDA! Strange considering the FTC has no real expertise in the area of health. According to the NPA, here are other potential effects:
- The FTC creating advertising guidelines that are inconsistent with what is allowed under DSHEA and the FDA
- The FTC acting as a legislative body, creating “rules” for industries like ours in areas in which it has no expertise
- The FTC levying fines against businesses for practices it deems illegal without allowing the business to change its policies
- The FTC levying fines against companies for “aiding and abetting” wrongdoing even when the companies did not know a violation was occurring
- The FTC making, approving, and policing rules with virtually no oversight
If you are interested in contacting your representative, here’s a really easy way to do it.
–Michael Ventresca
