Supplement Facts - Definition of Supplement

Q.  How do I know if I need to use a Nutrition Facts or a Supplement Facts panel?

A.  The FDA provides definition of a supplement in the CFR Title 21 Part 101.36.

Consider the following:

"Dietary supplements are defined, in part, as products (other than tobacco) intended to supplement the diet that bear or contain one or more of the following dietary ingredients:

1. A vitamin;
2. A mineral;
3. An herb or other botanical;
4. An amino acid;
5. A dietary substance for use by man to supplement the diet by increasing the total dietary intake; or
6. A concentrate, metabolite, constituent, extract, or a combination of any ingredient mentioned above.

Further, dietary supplements are products intended for ingestion, are not represented for use as a conventional food or as a sole item of a meal or the diet, and are labeled as dietary supplements. The complete statutory definition is found in section 201(ff) of Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the act) (21 U.S.C. 321)."