Loren Israelsen is executive director of the United Natural Products Alliance (UNPA), a trade association of dietary supplement companies committed to safety, science and quality. He has been deeply involved in the commercial and regulatory issues facing the global dietary supplement industry since 1980. He has served as vice president/general counsel to the American Herbal Products Association, co-founder and counsel to the European American Phytomedicine Coalition (EAPC), industry liaison to FDA’s Expert Advisory Committee on Ephedra, industry advisor to the Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS), expert panel member on IFT’s Functional Food Report (2005) and most recently sat as an expert panel member to the Department of Defense/RAND study on dietary supplement use among military personnel. Mr. Israelsen has authored more than 150 articles, book chapters and has lectured in more than 30 countries on dietary supplement and functional food issues. He is the recipient of the NBJ Lifetime Achievement Award, the NNFA President’s Award and the B.Y. Morrison Lecture and Medal. He was honored to be included in Natural Health magazine’s 30th Anniversary Hall of Fame and was recently the first person ever to appear on the cover of Natural Foods Merchandiser.
 
Health E-Insights: Is there any impending legislation that could impact the supplement industry?
 
Mr. Israelsen: Not really. Congress is preoccupied with other minor issues such as undoing healthcare reform, taking $60 billion out of the federal budget and getting reelected. The somewhat surprising passage of the Food Safety Modernization Act was as close as we are likely to get to any legislation involving dietary supplements—at least in this Congress.
 
Health E-Insights: Are you satisfied with the direction the industry is taking?
 
Mr. Israelsen: Satisfied? No. I am not content with the overall level of product quality, the gap between claims and evidence and continued skepticism among healthcare professionals and a troubling erosion of trust and confidence among the ranks of supplement consumers. Satisfaction will be the day when the breadth of consumer access to supplements in America is matched by our collective confidence in product quality and benefit.
 
Health E-Insights: Are there any significant industry trends you see taking shape?
 
Mr. Israelsen: Yes. There are a few things I think are interesting, such as the rise of personalized medicine where genetics, nutrigenomics and metabolic medicine will come together to create a personal nutritional and medical blueprint for each of us—or at least for each of us who can pay for it. Part of this will be the growth of medical foods, the first cousin of dietary supplements. I think the category of medical foods has a bright future and is clearly a growing concept. Something else to keep an eye on is the development of ingredient passports. When you buy an ingredient, it should come with its own “passport” to prove its authenticity. Where has it been? Who has handled it? This is a big one. I am also concerned about two negative trends. One is the continued recreational use of supplements (i.e., ED “lifestyle” supplements, high octane caffeine stimulants, etc.) vs. the use of supplements to manage chronic conditions. These negative trends interfere with the progressive trends, and we must be prepared to get our hands dirty to solve this. Otherwise, chronic condition management with supplements will not be taken seriously by key opinion leaders and health professionals. The deep recession has triggered another trend, which goes like this: we love organic, we buy organic, we lost our job, we still love organic, but now we buy natural, because that’s what we can afford. Support and preservation of a true national organic standard has to be a top goal, which means keeping the distinction clear between natural and organic. Finally, I am interested in the evolution of tri-branding in our industry, which has three elements: A retail place of purchase, a popular and trusted product with an “Intel-Inside” ingredient identified on the label. Example: Costco + fish oil + USP certified. Or, Whole Foods + fish oil + MEG-3 (Ocean Nutrition Canada) logo on the label. Tri-branding is the next wave.
 
Health E-Insights: Will President Obama’s healthcare bill really serve to make people healthier? Why or why not?
 
Mr. Israelsen: No. However, reducing agricultural subsidies for unhealthy foods would help—as would allowing HAS (Health Savings Account) dollars to pay for certain supplements such as omega 3s, niacin, vitamin D and nattokinase. And I say this with all due respect and support for the belief that access to healthcare and proper nutrition is a right and not just a privilege. Medical bills are the number one reason for personal bankruptcy. That is an indictment of our society.
 
Health E-Insights: Have you met President Obama or Mrs. Obama? If you did, what did you discuss, and if not, what would you say?
 
Mr. Israelsen: I have not. What would I say? To the President: What does a guy have to do to score a ride on Air Force One? To the First Lady: Nice dress. How’s the organic garden coming?
 
Health E-Insights: What one personal or business thing do you want to accomplish by the end of 2011?
 
Mr. Israelsen: Business goal is to fly less than 20,000 miles, tops. (My) personal goal includes two things. One is to meet my son at the airport when he finishes his tour of duty in Afghanistan this July. And two is to hold a small exhibit, for friends, of black and white photos taken with my Holga camera. I’m a big fan of Holgas.
 
Health E-Insights: What makes you laugh?
 
Mr. Israelsen: An American family trying to order dinner at a swanky Parisian restaurant. It’s hard to tell who is in more pain—the father or the waiter. And overhearing a woman asking a man, “Does this dress make me look fat?” One can only stand aside as the doomed one heroically tries go where no man has returned. The most entertaining versions of this happen at Nordstrom. This is high quality entertainment.
 
Health E-Insights: What is the best compliment you’ve ever received?
 
Mr. Israelsen: When my grandfather, who was a farmer, let me run a new combine on my own. He just said, “OK, that’s your barley field.” I was about 15.
 
For more information and interview consideration, contact Sheldon Baker at [email protected] or visit his website at www.bakerdillon.com. And check out his blog at www.NutraInk.com.