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Additional Information
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As defined by Congress in the Dietary Supplement
Health and Education Act,
which became law in 1994, a dietary supplement is a product
(other than tobacco) that
- is intended to supplement the diet;
- contains one or more dietary ingredients (including vitamins;
minerals; herbs or other botanicals; amino acids; and other
substances) or their constituents;
- is intended to be taken by mouth as a pill, capsule,
tablet, or liquid; and
- is labeled on the front panel as being a dietary supplement.
Although dietary supplements are regulated by the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) as foods, they are regulated
differently from other foods and from drugs. Whether a product
is classified as a dietary supplement, conventional food,
or drug is based on its intended use. Most often, classification
as a dietary supplement is determined by the information
that the manufacturer provides on the product label or in
accompanying literature, although many food and dietary supplement
product labels do not include this information.
To read the rest
of this excellent article on dietary supplements, produced
by the Office of Dietary Supplements, please click here: http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/DietarySupplements.asp
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