FDA Considers Broadening Dietary Supplement Criteria

The Food and Drug Administration held a public meeting on Friday to consider broadening its criteria for dietary supplement ingredients, potentially allowing makers to include substances like peptides and certain probiotics that fall outside traditional categories such as vitamins, herbs and food-derived elements.

FDA officials heard input from industry executives, consumer advocates and academics during the session, which marked the first of its kind since Robert F. Kennedy Jr. assumed the role of top health official last year. The meeting stemmed from a January request by the Natural Products Association, a trade group that has previously disputed FDA decisions on novel ingredients. The organization highlighted the financial burdens and regulatory uncertainties faced by companies navigating unclear guidelines.

Under current FDA rules, dietary supplements are classified as a subset of food, requiring most ingredients to originate from plants, herbs or other components common in the American diet. This framework has grown restrictive as the wellness industry evolves toward products incorporating newer substances not historically used in food. Peptides, short chains of amino...