Supplements Reach Shelves Without Federal Proof They Work, and a Pending Bill Would Not Change That

Dietary supplements are regulated more like foods than drugs. More than 75 percent of American adults now use a dietary supplement, and annual sales have grown from about $4 billion to more than $50 billion over three decades. Structure and function claims, the familiar language about supporting immunity or promoting joint comfort, do not require FDA authorization. The Dietary Supplement Listing Act of 2026, introduced by Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, would create a mandatory product registry. Critically, the bill preserves the existing statutory framework and does not authorize FDA to require premarket approval of supplements.