This is a tale of two types of weight-loss products and how the Food and Drug Administration had different responses to similar problems with them. The separate, but not equivalent treatment raises questions about how the FDA operates.

Following reports in the Washington Post that standards for classifying foods as organic had been relaxed, the U.S. Agriculture Department is launching an audit of its National Organic Program. The Post says that department thinks external scrutiny is needed to improve the integrity and reliability of the program.

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.

Playboy Enterprises likes to put its name and trademark bunny-head logo on products. Get ready for a supplement on which you can nibble the ears. At its second-quarter earnings call on Aug. 4, the president of the licensing division told investors, “Before year-end, we expect to add yet another new product category, nutriceuticals [sic]. We [...]

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?