The complementary medicines sector has assured Australians their products are regulated to high standards in response to an ABC Four Corners story earlier this week.
The story, Supplements and Safety, was based on a joint investigation by The New York Times and PBS' Frontline into the quality and safety of complementary medicines in the US.
According to Carl Gibson, chief executive officer of Complementary Medicines Australia, the association informed the ABC last week that comparisons cannot be drawn between US and Australian supplements as the quality control environment in the US is very different to here in Australia.
“We are also disgusted that the ABC agreed to provide a level of balance by acknowledging the strict regulatory environment for Australian complementary medicines and then failed to do so,” said Mr Gibson.
“The US regulates supplements as food, whilst Australia regulates supplements similar to that of pharmaceuticals standards. In fact, the Australian regulatory regime for complementary medicines is such that it is viewed by most countries as the consumer protection benchmark,” said Mr Gibson.
“A US produced story about supplements is very misleading to consumers and unfairly damaging to an Australian industry that contributes $4.2 billion a year to the nation’s economy.
“Placed in the correct context, as it should have been, the story highlights that consumers need to be aware that products purchased online from overseas are not subject to the same regulations as those enforced in Australia.”
The CEO of the Australian Self Medication Industry, Dr Deon Schoombie, said the program had limited relevance to Australian consumers.
“There is a vast difference between the way the US and Australia regulate these medicines,” he said.
“Under Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), consumers in this country benefit from one of the world’s most rigorous systems for regulating complementary medicines.”
The two organisations said that, unlike the US, the local regulatory regime mandates that Australian products only use ingredients assessed as safe by the TGA. The regulator also mandates verification testing of all active ingredients before a product is manufactured.
In addition, every batch of finished tablets and capsules is tested for active ingredients within the label claim, and stability studies ensure that the product remains potent and safe throughout its shelf life.
“Supplements sold over the internet are unlikely to have been evaluated by the TGA, which means there is no surety that the product contains what it says it does.
“The complementary medicines industry in Australia is governed by strict quality and safety criteria and consumers can have confidence in the quality of the herbal, vitamin or mineral medicines they chose for their health and wellbeing,” added Mr Gibson.
