Many of us might think of dietary supplements as a medication since they happen to look a lot like prescription drugs—some are even recommended by doctors. This is why, when many people purchase dietary supplements, they do so with the assumption that the product is safe for use and approved by the FDA.
But the truth is that FDA doesn’t regulate dietary supplements the same way as other medications, in fact, it treats them as food.
But that being said, dietary supplements are regulated to some extent by the FDA, based on the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act. This means that there is a chance that manufacturers may sometimes find themselves on the wrong side of the law while consumers may find themselves with reasons to make claims.
Here are two instances where dietary supplement legal services become essential.
As A Consumer of Dietary Supplements
The FDA doesn’t approve dietary supplements, so there’s no way to be 100% sure whether every product on the shelves on the supplement aisle is effective or even safe.
Moreover, OTC supplements, which are most supplements, can be purchased by anyone very easily. There’s a lot that can be wrong with these. For example:
- They can be labeled wrong;
- They could be spiked with harmful drugs;
- They could have contaminated ingredients in them;
- You could overdose or mix them with the wrong supplements due to insufficient information;
- They could be making false claims.
Any of the above reasons could lead to side effects and deterioration of your health. In which case, you’d need a dietary supplement lawyer to make a personal injury claim or a product liability claim.
As A Manufacturer, Distributor, or Retailer
Consumers aren’t the only group that would need dietary supplement law. When dealing with claims, dietary supplement law is just as important for manufacturers and retailers.
Moreover, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers may need the help of dietary supplement lawyers throughout the process of creating a supplement and getting it to the store shelf.
They may need legal help with advertising, FDA inspections or warnings, licensing or distribution, brand protection, contracts, liabilities, lawsuits, and so on.
In short, dietary supplement lawyers like the ones we have at Top Performance Legal in San Diego, California, can help supplement companies follow FDA regulations. But they can also help consumers deal with personal injury claims against businesses in the dietary supplement industry.
If you’d like to learn more about our dietary supplement legal services in the US, give us a call!