CRN Foundation Renews NAD Grant

WASHINGTONThe Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) announced it will extend for another five-year period the dietary supplement advertising review program established with the National Advertising Review Council (NARC) in October 2006. Under the extension agreement, the National Advertising Division (NAD) of the Council of Better Business Bureaus (BBB) will receive $959,000 from the CRN Foundation, payable in semi-annual grants, from 2009 through 2014.

Responsible industries take actions that demonstrate their commitment to protecting their consumers, and this self-regulatory program says to all companies that this industry wont sit back and let misleading advertising serve as a hallmark for which our industry is known, said Steve Mister, executive director of the CRN Foundation. In the three years this program has been in existence, it has gained momentum and widespread attention, becoming an example of responsibility for our industry. This initiative reflects one of the CRN Foundations objectivesto promote truthful and non-misleading advertising of dietary supplements to consumers through programs that encourage self-regulation of advertising by industry members.

Andrea Levine, NAD director and BBB senior vice president, added, Misleading dietary supplement advertising negatively impacts trusting consumers and honest competitors alike. Left unchecked, misleading advertising will undermine the reputation of the entire industry. With CRNs support, we have demonstrated that self-regulation can play an active and visible role in combating misleading and unsubstantiated dietary supplement claims, but there is still significant work left to be done. We look forward to continuing our program and are confident that it will make a real difference. CRN is to be commended for its leadership for supporting this strong, impartial self-regulatory program.