The headline on Figure 2 was updated May 19, 2021, to correct the share of adults who overestimated the Food and Drug Administration’s regulation of supplement products.
Four in 5 American adults report having used supplements, products that can include vitamins, minerals, plant and animal extracts, hormones, and amino acids. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) oversees the safety of supplements, and nearly all adults say the agency should have this responsibility. However, 7 in 10 think the FDA is unable to keep them safe from harmful products with the existing regulatory tools. Ninety-five percent support requiring manufacturers to inform the FDA about all the supplements they make and their ingredients.
These findings and the following data come from a nationally representative survey of Americans age 18 and older, conducted in May 2019 for The Pew Charitable Trusts.1
The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 governs the FDA’s oversight of supplements and generally allows for review of a product’s safety only after it is on the market and officials receive reports of potential health risks or consumer harm. Consequently, the agency knows little about the estimated 80,000 supplement products available to consumers.
Requiring manufacturers to provide the FDA with basic information about their supplement products, including their ingredients, would improve the agency’s ability to safeguard public health with its existing regulatory tools. For example, if the agency learned of risks associated with a specific ingredient, it could easily pinpoint other products with the same component and take steps to alert manufacturers and consumers. Product lists published by the agency would also give retailers a mechanism to ensure that supplements they sell have been listed with the FDA.