The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), the leading trade association representing the dietary supplement and functional food industry, today expressed strong opposition to California Senate Bill 1033, legislation that would impose new state-specific testing, disclosure, and labeling mandates on protein powder and other concentrated protein products sold in the state.
While CRN supports science-based safety standards and transparency in the dietary supplement marketplace, SB 1033 represents a misplaced policy approach that would create burdensome requirements outside the established federal regulatory framework and alarmist messages to consumers disconnected to any actual harm. Such measures risk confusing consumers, increasing costs, and undermining the uniform national system that has governed dietary supplements for more than three decades.
“Dietary supplements are already regulated under a comprehensive federal framework that includes rigorous Good Manufacturing Practices and contaminant testing requirements,” said Steve Mister, President & CEO of CRN. “Layering additional state-specific mandates on top of that system is unnecessary and counterproductive. It creates regulatory fragmentation without improving consumer safety.”
Under federal law, dietary supplement manufacturers must comply with comprehensive Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs), including testing for contaminants, including heavy metals, and ensuring products meet established safety standards. Modern analytical techniques can detect extraordinarily small trace levels of naturally occurring elements, but detection alone does not equate to risk.
Moreover, protein products, like all food products, are already subject to California’s Prop 65, which requires warning labels for items that exceed conservative thresholds for heavy metals. So, California consumers are already alerted if a product exceeds California’s permissible levels. SB 1033 would instead layer on additional California-specific testing disclosures and labeling mandates for protein powders and related products, creating a parallel compliance regime unique to one state. It ignores the reality that many food items that consumers ingest will have trace amounts of heavy metals from the environment, including fresh produce and meats. Protein products are singled out for special treatment that will worry consumers and discourage the use of these healthful products without appreciation that most everyday activities subject consumers to low levels of environmental contaminants.
This kind of patchwork approach affects companies of all sizes, whether national brands and emerging innovators —requiring separate testing protocols, website disclosures, packaging revisions, and supply chain adjustments tailored to individual state requirements.
“The proliferation of inconsistent mandates across states could disrupt national distribution systems and increase costs for businesses and consumers alike,” Mister continued. “A fragmented state-by-state system introduces uncertainty, inefficiency, and unnecessary expense across the marketplace.”
Legislation such as SB 1033 underscores why CRN strongly supports the federal Dietary Supplement Regulatory Uniformity Act, which reaffirms FDA’s authority as the national regulator of dietary supplements and prevents states from imposing conflicting or duplicative requirements. A single, science-based national standard provides clarity for consumers, consistency for manufacturers, and a stable environment for innovation and compliance.
“For more than 30 years, dietary supplements have been regulated under a clear, science-based federal framework,” Mister added. “Consumers are best served when there is one national standard—not a growing patchwork of state-by-state mandates. CRN will continue fighting to protect responsible companies, defend consumer access, and ensure supplement policy remains grounded in sound science—not sensationalism.”
CRN urges California lawmakers to reconsider SB 1033 and instead work collaboratively within the federal framework to strengthen uniform, science-based oversight that protects consumers without placing unnecessary burdens on responsible protein powder manufacturers.
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About CRN:
The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), founded in 1973, is a Washington, D.C.-based trade association representing 180+ dietary supplement and functional food manufacturers, ingredient suppliers, and companies providing services to those manufacturers and suppliers. In addition to complying with a host of federal and state regulations governing dietary supplements and food in the areas of manufacturing, marketing, quality control, and safety, CRN members also adhere to additional voluntary guidelines as well as CRN’s Code of Ethics. Follow us on X @CRN_Supplements and LinkedIn.