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The first recorded instance of dietary supplements can be traced back to the year 1938 when the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act came into existence. With their creation came also their acknowledgement of the vitamin, the mineral and certain other characteristics of foods. In the same year, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) staked a claim that would help to change the way that dietary supplements were being classified as drugs - simply because of the claims made on the supplements' labels.
Three years later, in 1941, they published the first RDAs (recommended daily allowances) that was to establish the basis by which the FDA would regulate vitamins and minerals. This happened despite the fact that at the time various dissenting voices believed that these RDAs did not reflect the day's scientific advances regarding the advantages of nutrients and their ability to maintain health.
The next major advancement in the history of dietary supplements took place in the years between 1966 and 1977 when the FDA proposed to publish fresh guidelines. These guidelines addressed the labeling as well as the content of various dietary supplements. Although when they were met with opposition from the public, the hearings that were being held had to be shelved for later.
A few years later in the year 1976, following many years of debating the issue of nutritional supplements, a bill, named Proxmire Bill, was passed by Congress that effectively prohibited the FDA from controlling and treating minerals and vitamins as being drugs.
Then, in 1990, the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act were signed by the United States President George Bush. The main aim of the act was to further improve information pertaining to nutrition and any other health claims produced by various health products.
Two years later, the Senate was introduced to The Health Freedom Act. At the same time a bill with the same goals was brought forward before House of Representatives. The bill was aimed at giving protection to consumers (US citizens) in their ability to choose effective and safe dietary supplements.
Then, the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act came into effect in 1994, which meant making an entirely new framework that could be used to regulate dietary supplements.
The White House Commission on Dietary Supplement Labels came out in 1996 with a report on how product categories would be regulated in the future.
The year 1997 saw the publication by the FDA of regulations for the structuring and functioning of claim notifications. In this year, an act named the Food and Drug Modernization Act had gone to Congress to allow the making of health claims by several dietary supplements.
The last act in the history of dietary supplements took place in 1999 when the FDA regulations made it necessary that a 'Supplements Facts' panel also be made to appear on labels of every dietary supplements.
Thus, the history of dietary supplements has seen a constant movement towards better regulation of these products, and to a great extent the rights of consumers have been well protected.