Progress in the Development of Federal Resources to Assess Dietary Supplement (DS) Exposures

Abstract

Accurate total exposure estimates are necessary to examine the role of nutrients and bioactives with health outcomes, as well as to monitor safety.ObjectiveReview progress in the development of methods and databases to assess exposures from DS.MethodStakeholder meetings and workshops; and an ad hoc Federal Working Group suggest and guide product development.ResultsDS intakes have been added to the NHANES 24‐hr recall questionnaire. An analytically validated DS composition database (DS Ingredient Database) is publicly available through the NLM web portal, which contains adult and child multi‐vitamin and mineral (MVM) DS and calculators to compare declared label with estimated analytical values. OTC prenatal MVM and omega‐3 supplements are now being added. A DS Label Database is under development, with full label information from virtually all DS products offered for sale in the US, and links to a structured vocabulary for indexing DS. A MyDS app lets consumers’ record products they take.ConclusionThese resources will help researchers accurately assess exposure to nutrients and bioactives from DS. Funding: Office of Dietary Supplements, National Institutes of Health