Type Not for Profit Area served United States | Focus Natural Products | |
Location Washington, D.C., United States Key people Deb Knowles, Executive Director Website naturalproductsfoundation.org | ||
The Natural Products Foundation (NPF) is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) corporation formed to enhance and promote the integrity of natural products through quality, science and education. Its offices are in Washington, D.C.
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Mission
The Natural Products Foundation advocates for research and awareness regarding dietary supplements, nutritional foods, and related products. Its primary activities include promoting product and label integrity; developing quality thresholds and guidelines; supporting research and publicizing findings; providing industry oversight; developing self-policing industry programs; ensuring overall consumer health and industry viability.
The organization supports the efforts of industry trade associations with various regulatory agencies and consumer advocacy groups. It is allied with the Natural Products Association (NPA), a 10,000-member organization (formerly the National Nutritional Foods Association) dedicated to representing the interests of the natural products industry. The NPA represents a coalition of manufacturers, retailers, wholesalers, and distributors of organic and health foods, dietary supplements, natural ingredient cosmetics, and sports nutrition products.
History
In 1994 the United States Congress passed legislation for the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA). It defined a dietary supplement as a product intended to supplement the diet and containing either vitamins, minerals, herbs or other botanicals (excluding tobacco), amino acids, dietary substances used to increase overall dietary intake, or a combination of such ingredients. Pursuant to the legislation, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulated supplements as food, not drugs. The distinction placed the onus for demonstrating safety and regulation on the manufacturers rather than the government.
Over the next decade, questions persisted about the safety of these products, and consumers remained confused due to industry inaction and media misinformation. Manufacturers and retailers decided that an independent watchdog organization dedicated to addressing these concerns was necessary.
In 2004 industry leaders held a meeting in conjunction with the National Nutritional Foods Association (NNFA) trade show in Las Vegas, Nevada to announce the formation of the Natural Products Foundation The new organization’s expressed goal was to promote and enhance the integrity of the dietary supplements industry. Its founders focused their attention on quality assurance, science, and education while supporting and operating within an existing regulatory framework.
The Natural Products Foundation also contains the former Dietary Supplement Information Bureau (DSIB), a coalition founded in June 2001 to promote the responsible use of vitamins, minerals, herbs and specialty supplements. The DSIB was integrated into the NPF in June 2008.
Initial NPF programs revolved around the self-policing of industry trade and consumer advertising.
Structure
The Natural Products Foundation has a Board of Directors, an Executive Director, and two governing bodies. The Executive Committee consists of four members. The Steering Committee consists of the Executive Committee and additional industry members.