WASHINGTON — The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), the leading trade association for the dietary supplement and functional food industry, announced today that a federal judge in New York State’s age restriction law case ruled that the association has standing to sue on behalf of its members, allowing the case to move forward. A motion for a preliminary injunction that would have delayed the law from going into effect was, however, denied late Friday.
The law, passed in 2023, is scheduled to take effect today, April 22, 2024.
In acknowledging that a preliminary injunction is “an extraordinary and drastic remedy,” the court held that issuing the temporary injunction was not in the public interest. CRN’s request for a permanent injunction, however, remains before the court and CRN will file a motion for clarification regarding points raised by the judge’s preliminary injunction opinion later this week.
This decision means that, barring further legal developments, the state can begin enforcing the age restriction law. The law prohibits the sale of certain dietary supplements that the state considers to be “labeled, marketed, or otherwise represented” for weight loss or muscle building to individuals under the age of 18. CRN has argued that the law will do nothing to protect young consumers from eating disorders but infringes on the constitutional rights of consumers, retailers, and marketers of legal supplements because it is so vague and subjective as to allow truthful, lawful claims for dietary supplements to be infringed.
“The announcement that we have standing is significant because it means that only CRN is positioned right now to go before the court on behalf of industry and argue the merits of what we believe is a strong case,” said CRN President and CEO Steve Mister. “As for the preliminary injunction, we knew that asking for such extraordinary relief was a longshot, although we respectfully disagree with the court. We will continue to pursue all available legal avenues to challenge this law and continue to believe it unfairly restricts consumer access to legitimate, beneficial health products and infringes upon the rights of businesses to engage in lawful commerce.”
For more details on CRN’s court filings, visit:
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