Most American adults regularly take at least one supplement, such as vitamins, herbs, fish oils, hormones, and amino acids. Under current law, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) oversees these products but does not review or test their safety before they are sold. The agency also has limited insight into the market—which is estimated to include as many as 80,000 products—because manufacturers are not required to tell the agency about the supplements they make or their ingredients.
Pew worked on legislation and regulations that would enhance FDA’s ability to protect consumers from unsafe supplements, such as those containing prescription drugs or other dangerous or illegal ingredients.