Baseball Supportive of New Drug Legislation
Commissioner Bud Selig applauded the introduction Wednesday of the Dietary Safety Act of 2010, a bill aimed at more effective regulation of dietary supplements to ensure they do not contain banned or dangerous substances.
The legislation, which would amend the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, was introduced by Senators John McCain of Arizona and Byron Dorgan of North Dakota.
Sen. McCain said in a speech that the aim is to require manufacturers of dietary supplements to fully disclose the ingredients of their products under the supervision of the Food and Drug Administration. He said one motivating factor behind this initiative was the number of professional and Olympic athletes testing positive for banned substances they said they did not know were in dietary supplements.
"All Americans should know the exact ingredients of any dietary supplement they use and the FDA must have the tools necessary to ensure the safety of dietary supplements," Sen. McCain said in his speech.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Selig offered his full endorsement for the move to strengthen the FDA's oversight of supplements.
"On behalf of Major League Baseball, I would like to thank Senators John McCain and Byron Dorgan for their efforts to broaden the Food and Drug Administration's regulatory authority over dietary supplements," Selig said in the statement. "We fully support the proposed legislation designed to protect athletes and consumers from dangerous, mislabeled and tainted over-the-counter supplements. The continued leadership of Senators McCain and Dorgan has made an impact on this important issue."
Phillies reliever J.C. Romero is among the athletes who have said labeling of supplements contributed to their unwitting consumption of banned substances. Romero was suspended for 50 games to start the 2009 season when androstenedione was found in his urine sample. He maintained he wasn't aware it was in the 6-OXO Extreme supplement he took and subsequently filed suit against Ergopharm, Inc. and Proviant Technologies, the manufacturer and distributor of the nutritional supplement.
As McCain pointed out in his speech, the FDA does not review or approve advertised claims made by supplement manufacturers, nor does it have mandatory recall powers. Strongly endorsed by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, this legislation would change that.
"The McCain bill is a fair and balanced approach that provides significant protections for all consumers of dietary supplements, while at the same time avoids placing unreasonable burdens on legitimate companies in the industry," USADA CEO Travis T. Tygart said in a statement. "We are grateful to Sen. McCain for his strong leadership on this public health issue and urge other members of Congress to support this bill."
