Use of dietary supplements has increased significantly over the past decade. While these products are presumed safe when used by consumers, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has no authority to require specific safety studies be done prior to the products' appearance on the market.  Current laws require that FDA prove a supplement is unsafe in order to remove it from the marketplace. 

At the request of FDA,  Food and Nutrition Board committee has proposed a scientifically based approach to be used by FDA for prioritizing and evaluating dietary supplement ingredients on the basis of available information on safety.  This approach is described in the report, Proposed Framework for Evaluating the Safety of Dietary Supplements, which is being released for public comment at an open meeting.

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