[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 174 (Friday, September 7, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45454-45455]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-19367]



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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Food and Drug Administration

[Docket No. FDA-2011-D-0376]


Policy Regarding Quantitative Labeling of Dietary Supplements 
Containing Live Microbials; Draft Guidance for Industry; Availability

AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA, Agency, or we) is 
announcing the availability of a draft guidance for industry entitled 
``Policy Regarding Quantitative Labeling of Dietary Supplements 
Containing Live Microbials.'' The draft guidance, when finalized, will 
advise firms that manufacturer, market, or distribute dietary 
supplements of FDA's intent to exercise enforcement discretion if a 
firm wishes to specify the amount of a live microbial in colony forming 
units (CFUs) in addition to the currently required unit of measure 
(milligrams) in the Supplement Facts label.

DATES: Submit either electronic or written comments on the draft 
guidance by November 6, 2018 to ensure that the Agency considers your 
comment on this draft guidance before it begins work on the final 
version of the guidance.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on any guidance at any time as 
follows:

Electronic Submissions

    Submit electronic comments in the following way:
    <bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments. Comments submitted 
electronically, including attachments, to https://www.regulations.gov 
will be posted to the docket unchanged. Because your comment will be 
made public, you are solely responsible for ensuring that your comment 
does not include any confidential information that you or a third party 
may not wish to be posted, such as medical information, your or anyone 
else's Social Security number, or confidential business information, 
such as a manufacturing process. Please note that if you include your 
name, contact information, or other information that identifies you in 
the body of your comments, that information will be posted on https://www.regulations.gov.
    <bullet> If you want to submit a comment with confidential 
information that you do not wish to be made available to the public, 
submit the comment as a written/paper submission and in the manner 
detailed (see ``Written/Paper Submissions'' and ``Instructions'').

Written/Paper Submissions

    Submit written/paper submissions as follows:
    <bullet> Mail/Hand Delivery/Courier (for written/paper 
submissions): Dockets Management Staff (HFA-305), Food and Drug 
Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852.
    <bullet> For written/paper comments submitted to the Dockets 
Management Staff, FDA will post your comment, as well as any 
attachments, except for information submitted, marked and identified, 
as confidential, if submitted as detailed in ``Instructions.''
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the Docket No. 
FDA-2011-D-0376 for ``Policy Regarding Quantitative Labeling of Dietary 
Supplements Containing Live Microbials: Draft Guidance for Industry.'' 
Received comments will be placed in the docket and, except for those 
submitted as ``Confidential Submissions,'' publicly viewable at https://www.regulations.gov or at the Dockets Management Staff between 9 a.m. 
and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.
    <bullet> Confidential Submissions--To submit a comment with 
confidential information that you do not wish to be made publicly 
available, submit your comments only as a written/paper submission. You 
should submit two copies total. One copy will include the information 
you claim to be confidential with a heading or cover note that states 
``THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION.'' The Agency will 
review this copy, including the claimed confidential information, in 
its consideration of comments. The second copy, which will have the 
claimed confidential information redacted/blacked out, will be 
available for public viewing and posted on https://www.regulations.gov. 
Submit both copies to the Dockets Management Staff. If you do not wish 
your name and contact information to be made publicly available, you 
can provide this information on the cover sheet and not in the body of 
your comments and you must identify this information as 
``confidential.'' Any information marked as ``confidential'' will not 
be disclosed except in accordance with 21 CFR 10.20 and other 
applicable disclosure law. For more information about FDA's posting of 
comments to public dockets, see 80 FR 56469, September 18, 2015, or 
access the information at: https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-09-18/pdf/2015-23389.pdf.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
the electronic and written/paper comments received, go to https://www.regulations.gov and insert the docket number, found in brackets in 
the heading of this document, into the ``Search'' box and follow the 
prompts and/or go to the Dockets Management Staff, 5630 Fishers Lane, 
Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852.
    You may submit comments on any guidance at any time (see 21 CFR 
10.115(g)(5)).
    Submit written requests for single copies of the draft guidance to 
the Office of Dietary Supplement Programs, Center for Food Safety and 
Applied Nutrition, Food and Drug Administration, 5001 Campus Dr., 
College Park, MD 20740. Send two self-addressed adhesive labels to 
assist that office in processing your request. See the SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION section for electronic access to the guidance.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steven Tave, Center for Food Safety 
and Applied Nutrition, Food and Drug Administration, 5001 Campus Dr., 
College Park, MD 20740, 240-402-2878.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    We are announcing the availability of a draft guidance for industry 
entitled ``Policy Regarding Quantitative Labeling of Dietary 
Supplements Containing Live Microbials.'' We are issuing the draft 
guidance consistent with our good guidance practices regulation (21 CFR 
10.115). The draft guidance, when finalized, will represent the current 
thinking of FDA on this topic. It does not establish any rights for any 
person and is not binding on FDA or the public. You can use an 
alternate approach if it satisfies the requirements of the applicable 
statutes and regulations. This guidance is not subject to Executive 
Order 12866.
    The draft guidance, when finalized, would advise firms that 
manufacture, market, or distribute dietary supplements of FDA's intent 
to exercise enforcement discretion with respect to declaration of live 
microbial quantity in CFUs, in addition to the quantitative amount by 
weight declaration required by regulation, within the Supplement Facts 
label of dietary supplements containing live microbials, provided that 
certain conditions are met.

II. Electronic Access

    Persons with access to the internet may obtain the draft guidance 
at either https://www.fda.gov/FoodGuidances or https://www.regulations.gov. Use the

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FDA website listed in the previous sentence to find the most current 
version of the guidance.

III. Paperwork Reduction Act

    This draft guidance refers to previously approved collections of 
information found in FDA regulations. These collections of information 
are subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520). The 
collections of information in 21 CFR 101.36 have been approved under 
OMB control number 0910-0381.

    Dated: August 31, 2018.
Leslie Kux,
Associate Commissioner for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2018-19367 Filed 9-6-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4164-01-P