Two Supplement Bills Proposed in New York

On Friday, January 19th, two bills were proposed in the New York State legislature. Bill S. 938 stipulates that no person shall manufacture, sell or expose for sale any product, which shall be termed a dietary supplement or nutritional supplement without branding or labeling such product with a statement that the product has or has not been tested by the FDA. It also calls for the commissioner of agriculture and markets to promulgate rules and regulations defining the terms dietary supplement and nutritional supplement. According to proponents of the bill, it is intended to allow the consumer to know which products have been tested so that a more informed choice can be made when purchasing these various products. It is important to note, however, that this bill deals only with the analysis of the product for purity; it does not deal with any medicinal attributes of the product. A companion bill, A. 2068, was also introduced calling for the same provisions.