The trade association commissioned an online survey undertaken by market researcher, Ipsos-Public Affairs. The research revealed 52 percent of Americans identify themselves as regular users of dietary supplements, up from 46 percent in 2006.
CRN has been trying to present dietary supplements as an essential part of a healthy lifestyle -the poll's results are encouraging to this end, in that they point to inroads the industry has made into the dietary habits of Americans.
Overall, the survey positioned consumer use of dietary supplements as staying consistent to the prior year, with 68 percent of American adults saying that they take dietary supplements compared to 66 percent last year.
The organization rolled-out some of the results of its annual survey at its annual conference held this week in Scottsdale, Arizona.
However, CRN has highlighted a large discrepancy between results garnered from phone and Internet respondents. In the telephone portion of the survey of adults nationwide, only 31 percent of participants indicated they regularly take dietary supplements.
Similarly, phone respondents were more skeptical of dietary supplements than Internet participants. Confidence levels for online participants stood at a high 80 percent, while 67 percent of telephone respondents said they are confident in the safety, quality and effectiveness of these products.
In 2006, the results from the two polling categories also differed - with 79 percent of those surveyed online and 69 percent surveyed by telephone indicating they were confident in the effectiveness and quality of dietary supplements.
"The psychographics of the online respondents may reflect that Internet users in general take a more active role in seeking out information about their healthcare, and consequently are more confident in the products they use," said CRN vice president of communications, Judy Blatman.
The association posits that Internet surveys may draw on respondents who are more likely to make fully informed decisions regarding their health.
CRN says that while a bevy of negative press on food safety surfaced this year, the effect on consumer trust in dietary supplements appears to have remained minimal when looking at the survey results.
In the 2006 online survey, 85 percent of respondents said they believed vitamin and mineral supplements are safe, compared to 84 percent in 2007.
Still, the trade association underscores that nutraceutical manufacturers do need to work to improve or maintain consumer trust in their products.
"We can't take safety for granted," said CRN president and CEO, Steve Mister. "We need to make sure that there are quality control practices in place from start to finish, at each phase of the production process, to ensure the highest quality supplement products for our consumers."
From the Federal Trade Commission clamping down on the false advertising of dietary supplements, to highly publicized cases of contaminated imports from China, the supplement industry has taken a credibility hit. As such, consumer confidence in these products, as indicated by the survey, is somewhat surprising.
Mister highlighted regulatory safeguards, such as the new good manufacturing practices for dietary supplements, as helping to ensure improved product quality.
"So as an industry we're taking the kinds of necessary steps to help protect consumers and help raise the confidence level," said Mister.
