GUEST POST by Jennifer Diaz The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authority to put an importer, manufacturer, shipper, grower, geographic area of a country, or an entire country on a “detention without physical examination” (DWPE) list  (a/k/a the FDA’s ‘Black List’).  To check if a company you are doing business with is [...]

The confusion surrounding steroid use in professional baseball has taken another strange turn. The Associated Press and New York Times report that eight of the 104 players who tested positive for steroids in 2003 fall into another category.

The FDA has put supplement companies on notice that violators can expect earlier detection and prosecution. The agency has shifted to a policy of less talk and more action. The industry response must be to get better or get out.

Several hours after our post on increased media coverage of the potential danger of supplement use by high school athletes, the Food & Drug Administration held a press conference and issued a public health advisory on body-building products and steroids. The warning was serious: “Due to the potentially serious health risks associated with using these types of products, the FDA recommends that consumers immediately stop using all body building products that claim to contain steroids or steroid-like substances, ” the FDA said in the advisory.

With public attention shifting to the health of teenagers — steroid use, obesity, etc. — the supplement industry has not been heard loud enough. Who will speak up?

Attention copywriters. The FDA has taken out a bright red pen and is poised to mark up your product statements. The green shades (an antiquated description of newspaper copyeditors)  signaled much closer review of health claims with a warning to General Mills about oat cereal. The agency has also revised a health claim for selenium, [...]