American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) President Michael McGuffin discussed significant California regulations that impact the dietary supplement industry at the American Conference Institute's (ACI's) seventh annual Legal, Regulatory, and Compliance Forum on Dietary Supplements held in New York City June 18-20.

McGuffin presented with Trent Norris, AHPA's Prop 65 Counsel and Partner at Arnold & Porter at a session titled, "California – Land of the Regulated: Prop 65, Slack Fill, and Other Significant California Regulations for the Dietary Supplement Industry."

McGuffin and Norris discussed several issues, including:

• Proposition 65 litigation wins, enforcement trends, regulation developments, recent additions to the list of substances that require warnings,
• Recently filed class actions and settlements related to slack fill, and new slack fill safe harbors
• Probiotic labeling legislation
• Subscription disclosures
• California’s current position that cannabidiol (CBD) cannot be used in foods and state legislation that would change this prohibition

“California is a critical market for many herbal supplement companies and the state’s laws and regulations can significantly impact the industry,” said McGuffin. “AHPA continues to actively advocate to improve the state’s regulations for supplement consumers and the industry. In addition, AHPA provides members and the industry with several resources to navigate the unique challenges presented by certain state regulations.”

AHPA General Counsel and Partner at Kleinfeld Kaplan & Becker LLP, Will Woodlee, also presented at the event during a debate on the risks and potential benefits of a proposed mandatory dietary supplement product listing requirement. Woodlee noted that a mandatory product listing regime would likely create unnecessary burdens for the industry without providing meaningful benefits to consumers or regulators.

“FDA already has adequate authorities to regulate the dietary supplement industry and a product listing regime won’t fix identified problems,” Woodlee said.

He also warned attendees to not discount the burdens, particularly on small businesses, or potential unintended negative consequences that this proposed requirement could have.

Presenter Slides

• Michael McGuffin's presentation
• Will Woodlee's presentation

AHPA Resources

• Prop 65 Guidance for Herbal Products
• Prop 65 Guidance for Cannabis Products
• Answers to consumers' frequently asked Prop 65 questions
• Webinar: CA Prop 65 Update on Regulatory, Compliance and Litigation Developments
• Slack-fill guidance