FDA Weighs Expanding Dietary Supplement Rules To Cover Peptides

The Food and Drug Administration held a public meeting in Washington, D.C., on Friday, March 27, 2026, to consider loosening its longstanding definition of what qualifies as a dietary supplement ingredient, a move that could clear the way for broader use of peptides, certain probiotics and other non‑food substances in over‑the‑counter products. The session, requested by the Natural Products Association, is the first under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has pledged to 'end the war at FDA' on supplements and has publicly praised peptides popular in wellness circles despite limited supporting science. FDA food official Kyle Diamantas told attendees the administration is committed to 'cutting red tape' and acknowledged the supplement industry has outgrown a 30‑year‑old regulatory framework that treats supplements as a subset of food, while industry figures press the agency to reinterpret the law so ingredients need not originate in conventional foods. Consumer advocates, including the Center for Science in the Public Interest, countered that expanding eligible ingredients would dramatically grow a market the FDA already struggles to police and argued the agency should first focus on making existing supplements safer. The outcome of the debate could reshape how aggressively companies market quasi‑drug products like peptide capsules and gummies to U.S. consumers without going through the far more rigorous drug‑approval process.