The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) and the International Alliance of Dietary/Food Supplement Associations (IADSA) are partnering in a new effort to disseminate science-based information about the safety of dietary supplements and ingredients to a global audience.

IADSA announced the release of a new edition of CRN’s handbook, “Vitamin and Mineral Safety,” for distribution to its wide audience of international regulators and stakeholders familiar with the IADSA name and values. “The original CRN report on the upper levels of vitamins and minerals has proved to be one of the key reference points for policy makers and regulators when considering issues around supplementation. I am sure that this new updated publication will prove to be equally valuable,” IADSA Executive Director Simon Pettman explained.

Over the course of the next six months IADSA will be involved with many workshops and other events with governments where the publication will be distributed and discussed. The Codex Nutrition Committee, which will take place in Bali at the end of the year and brings together many of the world’s regulators in the food and nutrition area, will also provide a key opportunity for decision-makers to access the report.

CRN President & CEO Steve Mister observed, “As a member of IADSA, CRN is pleased to see the efforts of our own science team and consultant amplified through the alliance’s international distribution of the ‘Vitamin and Mineral Safety’ book, and we are excited that our membership in IADSA allows a global platform to promote science over politically-based policy making. We hope that policy makers worldwide will refer to the book for objective scientific analysis to inform their decisions on appropriate safe levels of nutrients.”

The “Vitamin and Mineral Safety” handbook, released earlier this year by CRN in its third edition, presents science-based recommendations for establishing Tolerable Upper Intake Levels (ULs) for supplemental sources of vitamins and minerals, making it a useful resource for dietary supplement and dietary ingredient manufacturers, as well as scientific bodies and regulatory policy makers across the globe.

“Codex, multinational regulatory and standards-setting bodies are charged with evaluating safety and efficacy data in order to set recommendations that meet the needs of their populations, while not exceeding ULs,” said CRN’s vice president, scientific & international affairs, James Griffiths, PhD. “IADSA’s broad distribution of the ‘Vitamin and Mineral Safety’ book will be of great value in these endeavors.”

In addition to being distributed by IADSA to stakeholders at international meetings worldwide, the publication is available electronically on CRN’s website: www.crnusa.org/safety.