CRN Celebrates 40th Anniversary and New Members

January 3 marked the 40^th anniversary for the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN; Washington, DC), the leading trade association representing more than 100 dietary supplement manufacturers, ingredient suppliers, and other industry service providers.

The association, which says its mission is to promote and defend “the science behind supplements,” recounted some of its biggest achievements over the past 40 years, including its work as a lobbyist acting at the forefront of the passage of such landmark legislation as the Vitamin Bill (1976), the Nutrition Labeling Education Act (1990), the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (1994), and the Dietary Supplement and Non-Prescription Drug Consumer Protection Act (2006).

The association also works to bring industry members together. This year, for instance, it will host its 10^th annual Day on the Hill, a program that aims to connect members of the supplements industry with government leaders-including at the Congressional Dietary Supplement Caucus, which educates Congress about the health and economic benefits of supplements. CRN also played a key role in the developments of regulations such as the GMPs for dietary supplements.

Education is also an important part of CRN’s mission. The association’s scientific staff is regularly published in peer-reviewed journals and has authored several authoritative scientific works on dietary supplements, including the Benefits of Nutritional Supplements by Annette Dickinson and Vitamin and Mineral Safety by John Hathcock. Additionally, the association’s consumer education campaign, Life…supplemented, was awarded by the Public Relations Society of America.

Internationally, the association has also played a role, including in Codex Alimentarus working groups. CRN says it was the first, and for many years the only, NGO representing dietary supplement interests at these meetings. The association now has an international arm, CRN-International.

“For forty years CRN has been the voice of the dietary supplement industry,” says Steve Mister, president and CEO of CRN since 2004. “We have grown from a small organization to one that, although small in numbers is large in stature, recognized on par with much larger associations serving other industries. Our success and longevity is a credit to the leadership from our Board of Directors, and our member companies who are committed to responsibly manufacturing and marketing high quality, safe and beneficial products that consumers can trust, and sustaining an industry environment worthy of that trust. As a result, CRN has become a credible and reliable scientific resource for legislators, regulators, scientists, journalists and consumers on all matters related to dietary supplements.”  

In other good news for the association, it announced eight new member companies to ring in the new year. The association’s newest members are: voting members Church & Dwight Company, Inc., and P.J. Noyes Company, Inc.; and associate members AIBMR Life Sciences Inc., Bell Advisory Services, Biofortis Inc., Creative Flavor Concepts, and Nutrasource Diagnostics Inc., and international member Blackmores Ltd.