FDA Taps Interim Director for Dietary Supplement Programs

WASHINGTON—An FDA official with more than two decades of experience in the agency's foods program has been named to temporarily oversee dietary supplements.

William Correll has been selected as the acting director of FDA's Division of Dietary Supplement Programs after Daniel Fabricant, Ph.D., left the government in order to head up the 78-year-old Natural Products Association (NPA).

FDA still plans to select a permanent new director for its Dietary Supplement Programs. For the time being, Correll will oversee dietary supplements after having served 23 years in the FDA foods program.

FDA said Correll has held multiple directorship positions within the Office of Compliance in FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), including leading the office's Division of Enforcement, Division of Field Programs & Guidance, and the Labeling and Dietary Supplements Compliance Team. Correll also has served as acting director and deputy director of CFSAN's Office of Compliance.

”By naming William Correll as acting director for the Division of Dietary Supplement Programs, we appreciate that FDA has moved quickly to ensure it won’t lose any ground in regulating our industry," said Steve Mister, president and CEO of the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN). "We look forward to working with him.” 

FDA credited Correll's predecessor, Fabricant, with taking a number of enforcement actions in court and issuing warning letters to companies for committing infractions that ranged from adulteration of the products to mislabeling to violations of current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMPs).

"FDA intends to continue these efforts—including inspections of manufacturing facilities and enforcement actions when necessary—to ensure dietary supplement products are safe for consumers and comply with all other requirements of federal law," the agency stated.