| Comment Record |
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Commentor |
Dr. John W. Erdman Jr. |
Date/Time |
2001-09-17 15:30:17 |
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Organization |
American Society for Nutritional Sciences |
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Category |
Association |
| Comments for FDA General |
| Questions |
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1. General Comments
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Dockets Management Branch
FHA-305
Food and Drug Administration
5630 Fishers Lane
Rm 1061
Rockville, MD 20852
Re: Docket 98N-0359
The American Society for Nutritional Sciences (ASNS) is the principal professional organization of nutrition research scientists in the United States, representing 3,000 members whose purpose is to develop and extend the knowledge and application of nutritional science. ASNS members include scientists involved in human as well as animal research. Our members hold positions in virtually every land grant and private institution engaged in nutrition-related research in the United States, as well as industrial enterprises conducting nutrition and food-related research.
ASNS supports nutrition, health claims and labeling as the top priority program by the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition for FY 2002, as identified in the Federal Register 66:37480, July 18, 2001. We believe that the public's confidence in the value of foods to provide sound nutrition and to reduce the risks of diseases is dependent on careful regulation of nutrition labeling, health claims and structure/function claims. Sound scientific criteria that support claims on foods can promote public trust and minimize confusion about alleged benefits of substances in foods.
ASNS also supports the priority of enhancing the science base within the Center. We believe that rapid developments in the science of nutrition and in the food industry require up-to-date scientific training and experience in the Center, in order to reach science-based regulatory decisions. ASNS's Life Science Research Office provided a Report On Alternative And Traditional Models For Safety Evaluation Of Food Ingredients (Raiten, 1999) that outlined these challenges requiring broad scientific expertise.
Members of ASNS, its divisions and its research interest sections have special expertise in many of the issues before the agency. We hope that CFSAN will recognize ASNS as a resource for issues of nutritional science in addressing its priority programs in FY 2002.
Sincerely,
John W. Erdman Jr.
President
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