The supplement industry is big business (billions of dollars) and unlike the pharmaceutical industry, makers don’t have to wait for federal review before hitting store shelves. The supplement industry continues to battle with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) over regulating dietary ingredients. Manufacturers are required to report illnesses linked to their products and it only takes one case to start a firestorm. Supplement giant, Iovate Health Sciences Inc. experienced this when the FDA warned consumers to stop using hydroxycut products in 2009.

Many health & wellness companies are supporting former Massachusetts governor, Mitt Romney’s campaign for presidency. It’s not that Romney has any direct ties to the supplement industry (that are known) but rather his support for business. A successful business owner himself, Romney appeals to many companies for his business sense. It’s worth mentioning that Romney was in charge of the 2002 Salt Lake City Games and a number of supplement companies are based in Utah. The Olympics generated millions for the state and companies base there appear to be strong supporters of his campaign.

VIA USATODAY:

Executives with Utah-based supplement companies. They include David Lisonbee, CEO of 4Life Research, who gave $500,000 to the super PAC this year; and Steve Lund, co-founder of Nu Skin Enterprises, a Provo, Utah, nutrition and skin-care company. Eli Publishing and F8 LLC, which share a Provo address, donated $1 million each to the super PAC. State records list Lund as Eli Publishing’s registered agent.

Mitt Romney has refused to list his fundraising supporters however USA TODAY compiled a list and written more about the tie to the supplement industry. Read the entire story on USATODAY.com.

Parts of this story from USATODAY.