On May 28, 2020 more than 250 stakeholders participated in the 2020 USP Dietary Supplements Stakeholder Forum held for the first time as a virtual meeting, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Stakeholder Forum Chair was Holly Johnson, Ph.D., Chief Science Officer of the American Herbal Products Association, who also moderated discussion on agenda topics and panel discussions.
First on the agenda was the COVID-19 crisis and the challenges it has brought to the dietary supplement (DS) community. Panelists from five national trade associations for the DS industry shared their members’ experiences, needs, and priorities. All five associations reported that the primary concern of many member companies is protecting the safety of their employees and after that, meeting the regulatory requirements. Companies indicated that they have also experienced sudden spikes in consumer demand for certain products related to immune health, putting a strain on production capacity. Supply chain problems have complicated the situation. USP shared its commitment during these extraordinary times to provide support to manufacturers to help ensure the quality of dietary supplements (https://www.usp.org/dietary-supplements-herbal-medicines).
In addition to COVID-related topic discussions, speakers shared important updates about hemp and CBD standards and evidence-based safety information; background information and experiences with pyrrolizidine alkaloids as contaminants; consumer interest in “clean label,” and how the DS industry interprets USP standards. Presentations from the Dietary Supplements Stakeholder Forum are listed below.
Stakeholder Forum Summary
USP Dietary Supplement Stakeholder Forum Executive Summary (will be posted once completed)
Stakeholder Forum Presentations
Dietary Supplements and COVID - 19 Pandemic USP Support to Public Health Response
- USP response to the public health crisis, Phillip Nguyen and Hellen Oketch
Contaminants – Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids
- USP Perspective, Sandeep Putty
- USP Perspective, James Kababick
- Industry Perspective, Troy Smillie
Standards and Information for Hemp and CBD
- USP Perspective, Robin J. Marles
- Industry Perspective, Laura Eder
Specifications: How Industry Interpret USP’s Standards in Monograph, and Regulatory Requirements; Purity is NOT microbiology
- USP Perspective, Stephen Andruski
- Industry Perspective, Larisa Pavlick
Clean Labeling and Quality Metrics
- What does Clean Label mean, Gabriel I. Giancaspro
- Quality Metrics for Clean Label, Barry Ritz
USP Updates on the following Topics
- Monograph and General Chapters
- Subteams
- Admissions Evaluation including probiotics and Kava
- Expert Panels
- Botanical DNA Project Team
- Working Groups: Vitamin Overages and Plant/Extract Ratios
- Dietary Supplement Compendium
Agenda and Meeting Summary from the 2019 Dietary Supplements Stakeholder Forum 2019 Stakeholder Forum event details
Get Involved
As mentioned during the Dietary Supplement Stakeholder Forum, if you are interested in sharing details about how to get involved, please visit our websites listed below:
- USP DSHM website at https://www.usp.org/dietary-supplements-herbal-medicines
- Subscribe to USP Dietary supplements eNewsletter for periodic updates https://www.usp.org/dietary-supplements/resources
- USP Verification Services website at https://www.usp.org/services/verification-services
If you have additional questions, please send them to DietarySciStaff@USP.org.
For further information, contact Stakeholder Operations, Jacqueline Starkes at jws@usp.org