AHPA statement on confirmation of Robert Califf, M.D., as FDA commissioner

AHPA statement on confirmation of Robert Califf, M.D., as FDA commissioner

February 2022: Statement from AHPA President Michael McGuffin

Published: Tuesday, February 15, 2022

American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) President Michael McGuffin issued the following statement regarding Senate confirmation of Robert Califf, M.D., as FDA Commissioner.

"AHPA looks forward to working with Dr. Califf as he brings his significant experience and credentials to once again lead the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. We know that the Commissioner does not work in isolation, and we will continue to work with—and foster the strong relationships we have developed with—key FDA personnel with whom the Agency’s institutional memory for dietary supplements resides.

As Dr. Califf sets policy priorities at the Agency moving forward, we hope he will appreciate that Americans have continuously used dietary supplement for a half a century or more. Any decisions made on how best to regulate these remarkably safe and health-promoting products must reflect consumer demand for a broad range of safe dietary supplements to support individual healthcare choices. To do so, any amendments proposed to current dietary supplement laws and rules must preserve the essential balance—between consumer access to safe dietary supplements and sufficient regulatory authority for FDA—as established by the Congress when it passed the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act almost 30 years ago.

AHPA expects the longstanding critics of dietary supplements to attempt to push the 'unregulated' or 'under-regulated' myth and demand that the new Commissioner take steps that would create unnecessary barriers to this safe product category for consumers and unnecessary burdens on the industry that provides them. We stand ready to encourage Dr. Califf to guard against these misperceptions and to support the millions of Americans who safely use these products daily."

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