True to his word, President Obama is “cleaning house” and this industry is on his list. Just in the last six weeks, millions of dollars of products have been seized, destroyed or recalled due to either containing questionable substances or causing serious adverse events. The latter triggered a recall of the popular weight loss brand Hydroxycut.

For this issue’s”Capitol Comments” column (page 24), Todd Harrison changed his focus at the last minute to concentrate on the important implications of the Hydroxycut recall. And although it contains information you may not necessarily want to hear, it is information you need to know, particularly in light of GMP enforcement for medium-sized companies, which begins later this month.

Also along the lines of information you may not want to hear, but should thoroughly digest, is the issue of spiking (i.e., adulteration). It is real, it is ugly and it is big business. Coinciding with a major FDA meeting held in early May on economically motivated adulteration, Loren Israelsen, UNPA’s executive director, and Nutraceuticals World editorial advisory board member, offers an important piece on the realities of this despicable practice (page 57).

Adulteration usually exists in a high demand category (e.g., superfruits) where there is short supply. So, if you notice a sudden flood of ingredients that were once difficult to obtain, this might be your first sign that adulteration is involved. As this industry has witnessed very recently in the weight loss and sports nutrition categories (and many others), spiking threatens the very quality, credibility and survival of this industry, and it needs to stop. I give Loren a lot of credit for writing this article. He certainly does not mince words regarding his view of a “business” that is alive and well and simultaneously sucking the life out of dietary supplements.

Now, along the lines of things you definitely want to hear is more information about omega 3s. Adam Ismail, the executive director of GOED (Global Organization for EPA/DHA Omega 3s) provides a nice overview of this category for our cover story (page 32). While omega 3s have been going strong for quite some time, it might surprise people to know that the category is still in its infancy! This is great news, as it means there is a lot more room for growth and innovation.

Speaking of innovation, for companies seeking a “local” angle, you might want to take a page out of Frito-Lay’s marketing playbook. The company recently created a way for consumers to find out where their specific bag of chips comes from. This is genius, especially considering that “locally grown” is one of the biggest trends for 2009, according to a recent survey conducted by the National Restaurant Association. The only problem is locally grown typically implies small farms. Most of Frito-Lays’ farms are of the large industrial variety. Still, the goal is to put a face with a bag of chips. Perhaps nutraceutical companies should consider putting a face with their ingredients as added assurance of quality, safety and transparency. Maybe then there would be no reason to tell you things you don’t want to hear.