Women’s History Month: Andrea Wong uses science to improve supplement industry

Editor’s note: To celebrate Women’s History Month, Natural Products Insider is serving as a platform for women in the natural products industry to honor other women. In this series of articles, we asked several leading women in the industry to choose anyone else in the industry to celebrate. Want to recognize a woman in this way? Contact Sandy Almendarez to get published in Natural Products Insider, or write a shoutout with the hashtag #WomenInNaturals on your social media of choice.

I met Andrea Wong shortly before she joined the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) in 2013, and was immediately impressed by her poise, intelligence, and overall calm and thoughtful nature. She is a true professional in all the ways that matter. And, on top of that, she also has a great sense of humor—it doesn’t get better than a brilliant, funny scientist!

What’s most impressive is Andrea’s commitment to the industry and dedication to science. She’s spearheaded several important, complex initiatives at CRN, like its Best Practices for Probiotics, Melatonin Guidelines and other self-regulatory initiatives, and played a pivotal role in responding to challenges like the New York Attorney General’s 2015 investigation into herbal supplements. As a lawyer who works with scientists in this industry all the time, not all of them can so easily translate their expertise into practical, sound guidance and policy for the industry. Under Andrea’s leadership, CRN science’s department (and CRN in general) has thrived and grown even stronger. The industry is lucky to have her on its side, and I’m honored to have her as a colleague and friend.

Rend Al-Mondhiry, partner, Amin Talati Wasserman, advises the dietary supplement, food, cosmetic and OTC medicine industries on a broad range of regulatory and compliance matters, with a focus on helping companies navigate the regulatory landscape for hemp and CBD products at both the federal and state level. She is committed to helping companies responsibly develop and market products, drawing on her years of experience advising the nation’s dietary supplement and food companies on complex ingredient and labeling issues. She is also a frequent speaker and author on emerging legal and regulatory issues in the industry, and is regularly quoted in the trade press.