ABC Encourages US Supplement Companies to Join OWL Product Registry

04 Apr 2017 --- The American Botanical Council (ABC) has endorsed the Online Wellness Library, (OWL) product registry, and is now encouraging its members to register with the organization, specifically those who market branded botanical dietary supplement products.

The OWL, a self-regulatory initiative spearheaded by the council of Nutrition (CRN) for use by the dietary supplement industry is designed to “help create a more complete picture of the dietary supplement marketplace in the United States.” It is a two-tiered registry containing information from the labels of dietary supplement products.

Non Paid & Paid Tiers

Members of the OWL have the choice to appear on 1 of 2 tiers. Tier 1 includes an image of each supplement label and all of the information, including all ingredients, that appears on each label, for which there is no charge. Other information may be voluntarily submitted by each dietary supplement manufacturer to appear in Tier 2 of the OWL, for what is being termed a nominal charge.

Transparency in the Supplement Industry

The primary reason for the creation and maintenance of the OWL is to increase accountability and transparency in the dietary supplement industry by enabling public access to information on dietary supplement products sold in the United States.

The audience for OWL includes regulators, retailers, and other members of the industry. Other audiences (consumers, health professionals, researchers, journalists, et al.) will also have access to view the information in Tier 1.

In a statement by Steve Mister, the president and CEO, CRN, he said, “CRN appreciates ABC’s recognition that the Supplement OWL will increase industry accountability and transparency and will serve as an important resource for a variety of stakeholders, including regulators.”

“ABC has an impressive history of executing and supporting educational initiatives designed to raise the bar for botanical products in the dietary supplement industry, including its work on a botanical adulterants program, a research and education consortium designed to increase quality and transparency in the herbal and natural products industry.”

“We are gratified to know that ABC’s commitment to reducing mislabeling and the potential use of fraudulent ingredients in botanical dietary supplements extends to its endorsement of the Supplement OWL. In making its case for the importance of the Supplement OWL, ABC has taken a vital step toward helping the dietary supplement industry create a richer, fuller picture of the breadth and scope of the industry for regulators, retailers, and others who have an interest in our industry’s products. We encourage all companies in the dietary supplement industry to take notice of ABC’s leadership in this effort.”

“Based on the initial information we have observed about the proposed OWL, we believe that this new program, in principle, helps fill a vital need in the dietary supplement industry and extended community and the general public — for researchers, health professionals, regulators, members of industry, and consumers to gain relatively easy access to relevant information on specific commercial dietary supplement products in the US marketplace.”