MEMBER ALERT

December 5, 2008

Dear USP Convention Members and Delegates:

As many of you know, USP has set quality standards for dietary supplements for many years. Our approach to dietary supplement standards setting has always included a safety assessment, which is a part of the Admission Criteria to select botanical or non-botanical supplements for USP- NF monograph development. The safety review is conducted by our USP Dietary Supplements Information (DSI) Expert Committee, which reviews the safety profile of a dietary supplement's ingredients before a USP-NF quality monograph is developed, and classifies supplements according to the assessment. (Two other dietary supplement expert committees develop the actual monographs.) The DSI Expert Committee also monitors new safety data that emerges for monographs already in the USP-NF for possible re-classification.

The DSI Expert Committee is revisiting its safety review process at an upcoming meeting on Feb 5-6, 2009. To make the revised process widely acceptable and based on broader consensus, the DSI Expert Committee invites your comments and suggestions on improving the process. Your participation in this public review and input activity is an essential part of USP's standards setting process and the DSI EC encourages interested parties to review the notice for additional background and a description of the process.

We request your comments and suggestions before January 12, 2009 for consideration by the DSI Expert Committee at its February meeting.

Copy to Executive Officers 12-08