Jason Sapsin was quoted in the NutraIngredients-USA article "Firm Gets Warning Letter for Straddling Beverage/Liquid Supplement Divide." Full text can be found in the January 22, 2015, issue, but a synopsis is below.
The FDA recently sent a warning letter to a beverage company that took the company to task for failing to make clear whether its products were conventional beverages or dietary supplements.
The company ran afoul of FDA by including a Supplement Facts panel on the back of the label, but failing to identify the products as a dietary supplement on the front. Jason Sapsin notes that the FDA has said on a number of occasions that you can't have it both ways. You can't look to a consumer that you're a beverage on the front and then tout dietary supplement attributes on the back, Sapsin said.
"When I work with beverage companies and liquid supplement companies there are some basic things that we go through when trying to decide how to position a product. Are there certain claims you want to make? How do you expect the product to be used by your consumers? Then they need to go back and look at the guidance. If you follow that three step process you should arrive at a place to make an informed decision on how you want to position the product including the labeling," Sapsin explained.
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