New regulation will starve the supplements industry

When someone dies, the government often tries to play hero and prevent further deaths from occurring.

Such is the case after a bodybuilder recently passed away after consuming large amounts of protein. Unbeknown to her, she had a pre-existing condition preventing her body from properly processing protein.

Now the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) is on a mission to tighten restrictions on health supplements by categorising them as therapeutic goods — or medicines — instead of food.

Currently, supplements are categorised as foods due to the fact that they supplement people’s diets. Under Australian law, all food must meet defined quality standards to prove they are safe for consumption, and producers must properly label foods so the public knows exactly what they are consuming. Of course, any producer who fails to meet these standards should face the consequences.

When given the proper information, adults can easily make informed decisions. Some people will consume too many doughnuts, but Krispy Kreme should not be forced by law to cut off customers who have had a few too many. Peanut butter is associated with around 200 deaths per year. Should we also categorise that as a medicine?

The TGA is on a mission to tighten restrictions on health supplements, like protein powders used by body builders. Picture: iStock

Should it pass, this legislation would as good as kill the $1.9 billion vitamin and supplement industry, leaving thousands without jobs and robbing individuals of products they love. Furthermore, experts expect over 70,000 sports supplements would be pulled from the shelves as a result.

The supplement industry cannot simply push the cost of a medical certification on the customer and expect them to pay higher prices.

Because supplements are not medicines only a few would be even worth attempting to certify and even fewer would make it through the process. Anything that looks like a pill or a tablet would be called a medicine and would be pulled from the shelves along with any powder containing more than a single day’s recommend serving of nutrients and vitamins. This hurts not only bodybuilders trying to get ‘swole’ by consuming protein powder, but also vegans who need additional plant-based protein to get the nutrition they need.

These protein powders and supplements are already expensive due to the complicated process of making them. This policy punishes people trying to be healthy and undermines a thriving Australian industry.

The TGA’s policy punishes people trying to be healthy. Picture: supplied

Most government pencil pushers regularly lift stacks of verbose regulation, but that doesn’t make them experts in health and fitness like most of the people walking into supplement stores. And if anyone is capable of making good eating decisions without government hand-holding, it is the type of people who use nutrition supplements.

There is no such thing as free regulation for consumers or producers. Often big businesses hire teams of lawyers to manage government compliance. The largest corporations hire lobbyists to create regulations that will benefit themselves and hurt their competition. Meanwhile, small business owners lacking these resources must figure out compliance for themselves. While they may be experts in their field, it takes more than a degree in nutrition science to understand government jargon. Those small businesses are likely to face unfair government fines or even be shut down because they fail to file a piece of paperwork correctly.

The TGA collects a small fortune in fees. A business cannot sell a product even if that product is identical (down to the factory in which was produced and the label on the bottle) to that sold by another certified Australian business.

The high price tag for such a certification should make Australians wonder if safety truly is the TGA’s top priority.

This article appeared in the Rendezview on 5 December 2019.