FDA's illegal ephedra ban challenged yet again by Nutraceutical Corp

Breaking News for Friday, December 05, 2008 Exclusive Video from Generation Rx Film Features Dr. Julian Whitaker on the Drugging of Children GM Crops Climb to Nearly One-Tenth of Global Crop Production Consumer Product Safety Commission Sued Over Allowing Toxic Chemicals in Children's Toys Acidic Diets Cause Bone Loss; Alkaline Diet Protect Calcium in Bones Big Brother DNA Database is Illegal, Rules EU Court      See all Breaking News... FREE Natural Health Newsletter Receive natural health product reviews, recommendations and alerts. Instant download of 20+ free health reports and exclusive interviews. Join over 1.2 million monthly readers. Unsubscribe anytime, email privacy guaranteed Products Related to This Article* • Revealed: Natural Health Solutions (free) Free summary of book by Mike Adams for learning censored natural health remedies • Free download: Selling Sickness (summary) Read the best book on disease mongering for learning the truth about Big Pharma • Boku Superfood High-potency superfood powder for preventing numerous diseases * Recommended by the Health Ranger. See more recommendations on right → Articles Related to This Article: • As the FDA Banned Ephedra, Over-The-Counter Sudafed Fueled Widespread Harm By Providing Raw Materials for Illegal Methamphetamine Labs • Losing weight with appetite suppressing drugs, herbs and macronutrients • While Ephedra Remains Illegal, FDA Approves the Same Chemical for Over-the-Counter Pharmaceutical Sales

Ephedra -- an herb used for sports performance and weight loss -- was banned by the FDA after reports that linked the herb to serious adverse side effects. In April 2006, Nutraceutical Corp. successfully appealed the FDA ban on the herb after Utah Judge Tena Campbell blocked FDA action against Nutraceutical, writing in her ruling that the FDA had not proved that a daily dose of 10 mg or less of ephedra caused an unreasonable risk of injury or illness.

However, in August 2006, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver overturned Judge Campbell's decision, ruling in favor of the FDA. Nutraceutical's latest appeal argues that the FDA's assessment of "unreasonable risk" is too rigid.

The petition charges that the three-judge federal appeals panel that overturned Nutraceutical's Utah victory used "the same risk-benefit comparison standard in post-market review of dietary supplements that is reserved for pre-market review of drugs." The company claims that such a standard of assessment for herbal supplements would give the FDA the right to declare any dietary ingredient contaminated.

Dietary supplements -- unlike pharmaceuticals -- are not required to go through a series of pre-market approvals. The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) -- part of the Food and Cosmetics Act -- ensures that ingredients marketed in the United States prior to October 1994 do not need to be approved by the FDA before they can be used in consumer products.

Nutraceutical Corp. has also challenged the court's definition of food adulteration, claiming that the "FDA's rule produces the absurd result of causing raw, crushed ephedra sinica herb to be unlawful when placed in a gelatin capsule, but legal when placed in a tea bag." The company's appeal calls such analysis subjective, and says it sets a precedent for the FDA to preside over the entire herbal supplements industry.

FDA critic and holistic nutritionist Mike Adams, author of "Natural Appetite Suppressants for Safe, Effective Weight Loss," says the FDA's ban of ephedra is and always has been "... an illegal attempt to discredit and outlaw an herb that has been safely used in Chinese medicine for literally thousands of years. The FDA's double standard on herbs versus drugs is especially clear in the case of ephedra, since the synthetic version of the ephedrine compounds are readily available in over-the-counter cold medicine, which the FDA has made no attempt to ban."

###
Get articles like this delivered to you FREE in our popular email newsletter

Related CounterThink Cartoons:

Related Articles: • As the FDA Banned Ephedra, Over-The-Counter Sudafed Fueled Widespread Harm By Providing Raw Materials for Illegal Methamphetamine Labs • Losing weight with appetite suppressing drugs, herbs and macronutrients • While Ephedra Remains Illegal, FDA Approves the Same Chemical for Over-the-Counter Pharmaceutical Sales	Take Action: Support NaturalNews.com Email this article to a friend Share this article on: NewsVine | digg | del.icio.us Permalink to this article: http://www.NaturalNews.com/020632.html Reprinting this article: Non-commercial OK, cite NaturalNews.com with clickable link. Embed article link: (copy HTML code below): <a href = "http://www.NaturalNews.com/020632.html">FDA's illegal ephedra ban challenged yet again by Nutraceutical Corp</a>