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CRN launches Supplement OWL registry

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WASHINGTON — A year after it was announced, the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) Supplement Online Wellness Library (OWL) has gone live.

Steve Mister OWL

Steve Mister, CRN

CRN said Thursday that the Supplement OWL online product registry for vitamins, minerals and dietary supplements is now widely accessible for examination. All companies can test-drive the registry, and retailers can start using to use it to evaluate supplement products on their shelves.

Plans for the CRN Supplement OWL were unveiled in April 2016, and in July CRN said it retained independent safety science firm UL to build and administer the online dietary supplement product registry.

A resource for regulators, retailers and other industry stakeholder, the OWL is a self-regulatory effort that provides more complete picture of the vitamins and supplements market, according to CRN.

“Last month, during Expo West, it was heartening to witness the high level of awareness about the Supplement OWL and exhilarating to be surrounded by the industry buzz. This has been a unique opportunity for our industry: working together on a self-regulatory initiative for the greater good,” stated Steve Mister, president and chief executive officer of the Council for Responsible Nutrition.

“We credit those thought leaders who recognized the importance of an industrywide registry that would fill a gap for regulators, and we commend those companies who wanted to be — and are — part of the first wave of labels available in the product registry,” he added. “Together, we gained consensus around a dietary supplement registry, we built it, and now we’re ready to make it grow.”

The Supplement OWL provides two tiers of vitamin and supplement product information. Tier 1 includes an image of the product, a complete product label and other fields of information, obtained mainly from the label. There is no charge to participate in Tier 1. Tier 2 enables companies to upload additional supporting information and documentation about their products as well as decide who can access to that information. Once a label is uploaded to Tier 1, companies can participate in Tier 2 for a nominal charge.

Earlier this month, the Consumer Healthcare Products Association, American Botanical Council and Natural Products Association announced their support for the Supplement OWL. CRN noted that it expects the number of companies and labels in the registry to grow to the point where users will question why a company’s label isn’t available in it.

“Today is just the start. But broader engagement, that’s the end game,” Mister commented. “If you have confidence in your product and in your label, why wouldn’t you want to house it in a free product registry that demonstrates you’re willing to help the industry be more transparent and more accountable to our regulators, to retailers and, ultimately, to consumers. If daylight is indeed ‘the best disinfectant,’ then the Supplement OWL helps to clean up the industry by putting products on display.”


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