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What does MAHA mean for the US nutraceutical industry?

Industry associations have expressed mixed reactions to new policy directions on health and nutrition under the Make America Health Again (MAHA) banner.

In early September, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published its Make Our Children Healthy Again report, in the latest development in nutrition and health policy under HHS Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr.

The document sets out proposals to tackle childhood chronic disease through regulatory reform, improved dietary guidance, and expanded access to food-based interventions.

It also calls for research into “select high-quality supplements” within a broader National Institutes of Health (NIH) “Whole-Person Health framework”.

CRN welcomes inclusion of supplements in public health agenda

The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), a US trade association for manufacturers of (dietary) supplement ingredients and products, issued a public statement in response to the final MAHA report on 10 September.

It said: “The report brings attention to nutrition and the connections it identifies between proactive healthy behaviours and disease prevention, areas CRN has long emphasised as critical to improving public health.”

The group added that it “look[s] forward to working with HHS Secretary Kennedy and the administration to ensure supplements are given appropriate regulatory attention and [are] considered as part of any initiatives that encompass nutrition whether through health education, access programmes like SNAP [Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program], or healthcare savings tools such as FSAs and HSAs [Flexible Spending Accounts and Health Savings Accounts].”

IRS reimbursement debate shaped early industry engagement

Prior to the strategy’s release, trade groups voiced concerns over the evolving nutrition policy under the MAHA agenda.

Earlier in September, CRN joined the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA), the Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA), and the United Natural Products Alliance (UNPA) in calling on the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to revise Publication 502 to consider all supplements with a legally compliant Supplement Facts panel as reimbursable medical expenses under FSAs and HSAs.

CRN explained this approach was simpler to administer and would avoid excluding widely used products that lack structure or function claims.

The Natural Products Association (NPA) submitted a separate, narrower proposal that would restrict eligibility to supplements bearing a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-authorised health claim, a structure or function claim, or a substantiated mechanism of action.

NPA president Daniel Fabricant argued this would preserve scientific credibility while aligning with preventive health goals.

Industry reacts to proposals on ingredient scrutiny

The broader MAHA strategy also includes reforms to the generally recognised as safe (GRAS) process.

According to the New York City Food Policy Center, this process, which involves self-determination and voluntary notification, “is often used to fast-track novel ingredients that later appear in dietary supplements”.

The FDA is planning to introduce “a mandatory GRAS notification programme” and close what it describes as the “GRAS loophole”.

The FDA has also been tasked with reviewing the use of petroleum-based colour additives and removing synthetic dyes from the food supply. This proposal has raised concerns within the supplement industry, where dyes are widely used in gummies and tablets.

In comments reported by Politico in July, CRN president Steve Mister questioned whether such decisions were being guided by science.

“Red gummies don’t get to be red on their own,” he said. “Are these decisions going to be science-based? Or are they going to be politically motivated by a base that doesn’t trust colourings?”