WASHINGTON, D.C., May 1, 2009 — In response to a press conference and statement issued today by FDA warning consumers to stop using 14 Hydroxycut weight loss products, the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), the leading trade association representing the dietary supplement industry, issued the following statement.

Statement from Steve Mister, president and CEO, CRN:

“Both the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), as well as the manufacturer of the Hydroxycut products in question, took appropriate action today.  We commend FDA for warning consumers of a potential safety problem associated with these products, and were encouraged to see that the company—Iovate Health Sciences—agreed to recall the products from the market until further determinations can be made.

The potential safety problem was discovered by an adverse event reporting (AER) system that gives FDA the ability to monitor for signals or patterns of adverse events that could identify potential safety problems.  It should be noted that adverse events do not establish causality, nor is enough known at this point to determine whether the adverse events associated with these products were idiosyncratic, dose-related, ingredient-related or simply random.  CRN believes FDA took appropriate action to protect consumers, while not drawing speculative conclusions until further investigation is completed.

The dietary supplement industry is regulated by the FDA and the Federal Trade Commission. The dietary supplement industry is comprised of vitamins, minerals, botanicals, sports nutrition supplements, weight loss products and specialty products. According to Nutrition Business Journal, the dietary supplement industry is a $23.7 billion industry and weight loss supplements account for approximately $1.7 billion annually.”

Note to Editor: The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), founded in 1973, is a Washington, D.C.-based trade association representing dietary supplement manufacturers and ingredient suppliers. CRN members agree to adhere to voluntary guidelines for manufacturing, labeling and marketing and CRN’s Code of Ethics.  Visit www.crnusa.org.