Trade groups on bird flu
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
"Marketers and retailers of dietary supplements are urged to refuse to stock or sell any products that are presented as preventing, treating or curing avian flu," a coalition of supplement industry trade groups announces in a joint advisory issued Nov. 18. The American Herbal Products Association, Consumer Healthcare Products Association, Council for Responsible Nutrition and National Nutritional Foods Association "encourag[e] consumers to use caution should they encounter products which claim to treat or prevent the avian flu" and note that "federal law and regulations do not allow any dietary supplement product" to make such claims. Although supplements can enhance general immune function, therapies for prevention or treatment of avian flu "should only be recommended by qualified healthcare professionals or public health authorities," the groups conclude...