The bigger issue is that most do nothing and are actively promoted as doing things they don't do.
The FDA's mandates are safety and efficacy, in that order. It's still bad, but I'm way more OK with people taking sham pills that contain exactly binder and nothing else, instead of taking sham pills that contain lead and mold.
no. But for makers of actual pharmaceuticals, etc., the FDA can appear at your plant and they have the legal authority to close the site and halt manufacture until they're done auditing you. That particular power is not granted to them for supplement makers. I think it ought to be.
It's sure supposed to be!
> Woudn't testing product samples to ensure that they are what they claim to ve (and nothing else) be enough?
Experience has shown otherwise. Though random product QA testing is absolutely the first and normal line of defense, you need the fist, too. Actual plant shutdowns are rare, very costly, and normally get people's attention.
I'm broadly in favor of the FDA and other regulatory agencies, if for no other reason than they have the power to require that you're really selling what you claim you are, and enormous power to punish you if you don't.
That this is not the case for supplements is largely the fault of Orrin Hatch.