Dietary supplement makers push the FDA to allow peptides and other new ingredients

WASHINGTON (AP) — Makers of dietary supplements are pushing the Food and Drug Administration to expand the types of ingredients they can put in their products, a change that could open the door to more marketing of peptides, probiotics and other trendy wellness offerings.

The FDA was holding a public meeting Friday to discuss its longstanding criteria for dietary supplements and whether they could be broadened to include substances that don't come from food, vitamins, herbs or other traditional ingredients. FDA officials will hear from industry executives, consumer advocates and academics.

It’s the first such meeting since Robert F. Kennedy Jr. became the nation’s top health official last year. Kennedy has vowed to “end the war at FDA” on dietary supplements, peptides and other products that are popular within his Make America Healthy Again movement.

Friday’s meeting came at the request of the Natural Products Association, an industry group that has clashed with the FDA over certain new supplement ingredients. The group asked for the meeting in a January letter, citing “the cost and uncertainty that arise when regulatory expectations are unclear.”

The FDA’s top food official, Kyle Diamantas, opened the meeting by underscoring the administration’s commitment to “cutting red tape” to lower the industry's costs.

“The industry has grown tremendously over the last 30 years yet the regulatory framework has largely stayed the same,” Diamantas told attendees.

Here's what to know about the issue:

Under FDA regulations, supplements are deemed to be a category of food, with most of their ingredients coming from plants, herbs and other substances found in the American diet.

That requirement has become a challenge for the industry in recent years as newer wellness products often feature substances that have never been used in food.

Peptides, for instance, are druglike chains of amino acids that have been widely promoted by celebrities and influencers as a way to build muscle and look younger, although there’s little science supporting their use.

Many specialty pharmacies and clinics sell them as injections or IV infusions, but some supplement makers have also begun adding them to capsules, gummies and powders.

Technically, those products violate FDA rules, according to FDA lawyers. The same goes for certain types of probiotics, bacteria-containing products that are pitched to aid digestion and promote gut health.

Companies argue that FDA law, as written, doesn’t specify that all ingredients must come from food.

“The hope of the meeting is that FDA is willing to open up its interpretation of what constitutes a dietary ingredient to allow dietary substances that aren’t already in food,” said Robert Durkin, a former official in the FDA's supplements program who now consults for companies.

But consumer advocates warn that allowing new ingredients would vastly expand the market for supplements, which the FDA has long struggled to oversee.

“FDA should focus on making the current market safer instead of allowing more chemicals and substances in supplements,” said Jensen Jose, senior regulatory counsel of the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest, in a presentation at Friday's meeting.

Kennedy recently declared himself “a big fan” of peptides, telling podcast host Joe Rogan that he’s personally used them to treat injuries. He also vowed to loosen FDA limits on producing injectable peptides, which have been subject to federal safety restrictions.

Some of Kennedy’s allies and supporters are proponents of the chemicals, including Gary Brecka, a self-described “longevity expert,” who sells peptide injectables, patches and nasal sprays through his website.

Dr. Mark Hyman, another Kennedy friend, sells dozens of dietary supplements, including some claiming to contain peptides, through his website.

Two former health advisers from Kennedy's presidential campaign also have ties to the industry.

Calley Means, now serving as a senior adviser in the Department of Health and Human Services, co-founded an online platform that helps people spend tax-free health dollars on supplements and other wellness goods.

Dr. Casey Means — his sister and President Donald Trump's surgeon general nominee — made hundreds of thousands of dollars promoting supplements, probiotics and related products, according to financial disclosure forms.

The FDA does not review dietary supplements the way it approves drugs and other medical products after confirming their safety and effectiveness. The agency does not even have a list of all the products in circulation.

With some 100,000 or more supplements on the market, manufacturers are legally responsible for making sure their products are safe and truthfully advertised, according to the FDA. Supplements can’t claim to treat specific diseases or medical conditions.

The 1994 law that gave the FDA oversight of the industry also exempted supplement makers from nutrition labeling requirements, under which companies must scientifically support health claims.

Instead, supplement makers can make more general claims, such as that their products maintain or support health and well-being.

Some former regulators think that approach was a mistake.

“It sanctioned unauthorized, implied health claims” said Mitch Zeller, who worked on supplement issues at the FDA during the 1990s. “There are all manner of claims being made on supplement labeling or in advertising that are carefully worded to avoid making a drug or treatment claim.”

Companies can also say their products improve the structure or function of certain body parts, such as strengthening bones. Products making general or specific claims must carry a disclaimer: “This statement has not been evaluated by the FDA.”

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Follow the AP's coverage of the Food and Drug Administration at https://apnews.com/hub/us-food-and-drug-administration.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon and Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. listen during a Cabinet meeting at the White House, Thursday, March 26, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

FILE - The Food and Drug Administration seal is seen at the Hubert Humphrey Building Auditorium in Washington, April 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro was discharged from a hospital in the capital on Friday to continue serving a 27-year sentence for a coup attempt at his residence in an upscale gated community.

The Supreme Court earlier in the week granted him the right of house imprisonment due to failing health. The measure could be revised within 90 days.

Bolsonaro left the hospital DF Star in Brasilia at around 10 a.m. local time and headed to the Jardim Botanico neighborhood, where he lived prior to his conviction with his wife, Michelle Bolsonaro, and his 15-year-old daughter, Laura.

The 71-year-old was hospitalized on March 13 for pneumonia, one of several health issues he has faced since he was stabbed by a man in 2018 before being elected president. He was put in intensive care for days due to kidney and inflammatory problems.

Bolsonaro governed between 2019 and 2022 and narrowly lost his reelection bid to current President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

The former right-wing leader was accused of plotting with top aides to stay in office by decree despite the election loss, and was convicted of charges including attempted coup and attempted violent abolition of the democratic rule of law. He has denied wrongdoing and called the case a political witchhunt.

The former president started serving his sentence in November in a 12-square-meter room at the federal police headquarters, which included a bed, a private bathroom, air conditioning, a TV set and a desk. In January, he was transferred to a 54-square-meter room with a 10-square-meter outside area that he could access at will at the Papuda penitentiary.

Bolsonaro remains popular in Brazil and one of his sons, Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, is in a competitive position against Lula in polls ahead of October’s presidential election. The former president is ineligible and will not be allowed to take a public role in any campaign.

In his ruling, Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes stressed that Bolsonaro’s transition to house arrest is conditional and that he could return to prison if he violates house imprisonment rules regardless of his medical condition.

Bolsonaro will wear an ankle monitor and is not allowed to communicate with anyone outside his home. He is not allowed to host visitors except for doctors, family members and his lawyers. Police will watch his house and protesters won’t be allowed to gather near it.

Law professor Marcelo Crespo of ESPM university in Sao Paulo said it is unusual for house imprisonment rulings like Bolsonaro’s to include a review after 90 days, but he said de Moraes was seeking “some middle ground by not granting house imprisonment for an undetermined period.” As recently as November, de Moraes deemed the former president to be a flight risk.

The 90-day review has drawn criticism from both sides of the political divide.

Bolsonaro’s family and allies, who consider de Moraes an adversary, have criticized the temporary nature of the house imprisonment. Detractors of the former president are also upset, saying he is receiving lenient treatment despite his long history of advocating for harsh penalties for convicts.

Bolsonaro’s shift to house arrest comes as de Moraes and his wife are entangled in a scandal involving the multibillion-dollar collapse of Banco Master, which was shut down in late 2025 by the Central Bank amid allegations of fraud involving businesspeople and politicians across the ideological spectrum.

De Moraes, who until recently was hailed as a hero by adversaries of the former president, has been under fire since January from both critics and allies of Bolsonaro over the justice’s ties to the bank, which have raised concerns over conflicts of interest. They include his wife’s former multimillion-dollar contract to provide legal services to the bank.

De Moraes has denied wrongdoing.

Political analyst Thomas Traumann, who has written books about Brazil’s political divisions, attributed de Moraes’ decision to grant Bolsonaro house imprisonment to political pressure over his links to the Banco Master scandal.

“If it were up to him alone, he wouldn’t let Bolsonaro go home,” Traumann said.

Traumann noted that Bolsonaro had health problems before going to prison, and that Brazil’s Supreme Court has always been close to politics. “De Moraes needed to show some good will,” he said.

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

FILE - Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro, temporarily allowed out of house arrest for medical treatment, departs a hospital in Brasilia, Brazil, Sept. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres, File)