‘Dark Patterns’ Casting Shadow On E-commerce

Three FDA warnings related to supplement manufacturing, labeling or marketing submitted to Amazon or companies selling vitamin, mineral or supplement products on its e-commerce platform since April 2024.

HHS Secretary Kennedy commends food companies for cooperating, but also says, “We have them on the run now and we are going to win this battle. And four years from now, we're going to have most of these products off the market.”

FDA introduced the option because it didn’t have sufficient staff to handle the volume of GRAS submission reviews requested by food and other firms for ingredients. Requiring submissions for all GRAS determinations “would just be an unworkable situation for the food industry if somehow submitting notice, submitting notices for FDA review and concurrence, was required,” says food and drug attorney Federick Stearns.

FDA says “extension affords covered entities the additional time necessary to ensure complete coordination across the supply chain in order to fully implement the final rule’s requirements—ultimately providing FDA and consumers with greater transparency and food safety.”