Supplement Source Podcast

What happens when the next generation of nutrition scientists steps outside the academic world and gets a firsthand look at how research informs products, policy, and consumer health?

In this episode of Supplement Source, host Jeff Ventura welcomes two participants in the Council for Responsible Nutrition's (CRN) CAP Scholars Program: Siwen Wang, a Ph.D. student at Harvard University's T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and Gopi Yalavarthi, a Ph.D. candidate at Penn State.

Fresh from attending CRN's annual industry conference, the scholars share how the experience broadened their perspectives on the relationship between academic research and the dietary supplement industry. They discuss the value of engaging with industry scientists and regulatory experts, learning how companies translate research into solutions for consumers, and building professional connections that can shape their future careers.

From women's health and dietary supplements to dietary fiber research and product innovation, their conversation highlights the importance of bridging academia and industry—and the opportunities that emerge when promising young scientists see their work through a new lens.

About the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) 
The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), founded in 1973 and based in Washington, D.C., is the leading trade association representing the dietary supplement and functional food industry. Bringing together manufacturers, ingredient suppliers, and service providers, CRN unites its member companies around a shared commitment to science, transparency, and responsible business practices—advancing a strong, credible marketplace that supports consumer health and industry growth.

In an increasingly complex regulatory and media environment, CRN serves as the industry’s front line—shaping science-based policy, defending market access, and countering misinformation. Through strategic advocacy, self-regulatory leadership, voluntary guidelines, and evidence-based communications, CRN ensures that responsible companies are recognized, protected, and positioned to innovate and compete. Learn more at crnusa.org and follow @CRN_Supplements on X and LinkedIn.

What makes a wellness study credible—and how can we tell whether its findings actually matter?

In this episode of Supplement Source, CRN's Jeff Ventura speaks with Valerie Starratt, Senior Vice President of Science and Data at Radicle Science, a company focused on advancing evidence-based understanding of wellness products through scientific research.

The conversation explores what separates well-designed studies from misleading conclusions, and why statistical significance doesn't always translate into real-world benefits. Starratt explains how researchers evaluate everything from biological markers and wearable technology to participants' personal experiences—and why understanding how people actually feel can be just as important as what the data show.

They also discuss common pitfalls in interpreting scientific findings, the importance of choosing meaningful research outcomes, and how media coverage can sometimes oversimplify or misrepresent what researchers have discovered.

For supplement industry professionals, researchers, and anyone interested in the science behind wellness, this episode offers a practical perspective on evaluating evidence and understanding what research can—and cannot—tell us.

About the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) 
The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), founded in 1973 and based in Washington, D.C., is the leading trade association representing the dietary supplement and functional food industry. Bringing together manufacturers, ingredient suppliers, and service providers, CRN unites its member companies around a shared commitment to science, transparency, and responsible business practices—advancing a strong, credible marketplace that supports consumer health and industry growth.

In an increasingly complex regulatory and media environment, CRN serves as the industry’s front line—shaping science-based policy, defending market access, and countering misinformation. Through strategic advocacy, self-regulatory leadership, voluntary guidelines, and evidence-based communications, CRN ensures that responsible companies are recognized, protected, and positioned to innovate and compete. Learn more at crnusa.org and follow @CRN_Supplements on X and LinkedIn.

What does it really take to ensure the quality, safety, and regulatory compliance of botanical ingredients sourced through complex global supply chains?

In this episode of Supplement Source, CRN's Jeff Ventura welcomes back Ajay Patel, founder and CEO of Verdure Sciences, along with Ashish Kumar, director of compliance, and Isabella Bucklew, sustainability coordinator, for a conversation about why effective compliance requires much more than certifications, audit reports, and paperwork.

Drawing on nearly two decades of quality assurance and regulatory experience, Kumar explains why verifying practices firsthand—at farms, manufacturing facilities, and logistics operations—is essential to building trustworthy supply chains. Patel discusses the importance of treating suppliers as strategic partners, investing in continuous improvement, and navigating increasingly complex regulatory requirements across international markets.

The conversation also explores how climate variability complicates botanical sourcing, why understanding an ingredient's origins matters as much as reviewing its certificate of analysis, and how stronger relationships with suppliers can help identify and address potential problems before they become larger issues.

Bucklew also shares a preview of Verdure Sciences' upcoming sixth annual sustainability report.

The takeaway: Compliance isn't simply about having the right documentation. It's about knowing what's happening on the ground—and building the relationships, oversight, and accountability needed to ensure quality throughout the supply chain.

About the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) 
The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), founded in 1973 and based in Washington, D.C., is the leading trade association representing the dietary supplement and functional food industry. Bringing together manufacturers, ingredient suppliers, and service providers, CRN unites its member companies around a shared commitment to science, transparency, and responsible business practices—advancing a strong, credible marketplace that supports consumer health and industry growth.

In an increasingly complex regulatory and media environment, CRN serves as the industry’s front line—shaping science-based policy, defending market access, and countering misinformation. Through strategic advocacy, self-regulatory leadership, voluntary guidelines, and evidence-based communications, CRN ensures that responsible companies are recognized, protected, and positioned to innovate and compete. Learn more at crnusa.org and follow @CRN_Supplements on X and LinkedIn.

With FDA's release of final guidance on new dietary ingredient (NDI) notifications this week, questions about ingredient safety, scientific substantiation, and regulatory compliance are taking center stage.

That makes the latest episode of CRN's Supplement Source Podcast especially timely.

The conversation features Rebecca Tarrien, Program Manager for Safety Services at SGS Nutrasource, discussing the differences between GRAS and NDI regulatory pathways, the challenges manufacturers face in documenting ingredient safety, and proposed changes to the GRAS notification process.

While FDA's new guidance and the proposed GRAS reforms are separate regulatory developments, both underscore the importance of understanding the scientific evidence and regulatory requirements behind dietary ingredient safety.

It's a timely conversation for an industry navigating an evolving regulatory landscape.

About the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) 
The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), founded in 1973 and based in Washington, D.C., is the leading trade association representing the dietary supplement and functional food industry. Bringing together manufacturers, ingredient suppliers, and service providers, CRN unites its member companies around a shared commitment to science, transparency, and responsible business practices—advancing a strong, credible marketplace that supports consumer health and industry growth.

In an increasingly complex regulatory and media environment, CRN serves as the industry’s front line—shaping science-based policy, defending market access, and countering misinformation. Through strategic advocacy, self-regulatory leadership, voluntary guidelines, and evidence-based communications, CRN ensures that responsible companies are recognized, protected, and positioned to innovate and compete. Learn more at crnusa.org and follow @CRN_Supplements on X and LinkedIn.

Choline is an essential nutrient with important roles across the lifespan—but many people around the world still aren’t getting enough. Now, choline is gaining greater attention on the international nutrition policy stage.

In this episode of Supplement Source, CRN brings together experts in nutrition science, industry, and global policy to explore why choline matters, what the science tells us about intake and health, and how international standards developed through Codex Alimentarius can influence nutrition policy around the world.

Guests include Trygve Bergeland and Eric Ciappio of Balchem, who discuss the science, marketplace, and policy implications surrounding choline; and Prof. Rima Obeid and Dr. Emma Derbyshire, who explore choline’s essential biological functions, intake gaps, and the growing body of evidence supporting greater attention to the nutrient.

The conversation also previews the upcoming CRN-International symposium held in November at Codex in Nuremberg, where Obeid and Derbyshire will bring the choline discussion, moderated by Bergeland, directly to an international audience of nutrition and regulatory experts.

It’s a look at what happens when nutrition science moves beyond the laboratory and onto the global policy stage—and why the conversation around choline may be reaching an important moment.

About the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) 
The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), founded in 1973 and based in Washington, D.C., is the leading trade association representing the dietary supplement and functional food industry. Bringing together manufacturers, ingredient suppliers, and service providers, CRN unites its member companies around a shared commitment to science, transparency, and responsible business practices—advancing a strong, credible marketplace that supports consumer health and industry growth.

In an increasingly complex regulatory and media environment, CRN serves as the industry’s front line—shaping science-based policy, defending market access, and countering misinformation. Through strategic advocacy, self-regulatory leadership, voluntary guidelines, and evidence-based communications, CRN ensures that responsible companies are recognized, protected, and positioned to innovate and compete. Learn more at crnusa.org and follow @CRN_Supplements on X and LinkedIn.

What if the nutrients we consume can influence not our genetic code itself, but how our bodies read and use it?

In this episode of Supplement Source, host Jeff Ventura explores the emerging science of epigenetics, methylation and cellular health with Lauren Eisen and Eric Ciappio of Balchem, along with expert Emily Ho.

The conversation breaks down the complex science of methylation in accessible terms, including how epigenetic mechanisms help regulate which genetic information cells use and how nutrients can contribute to those processes. The guests discuss the importance of methylation during pregnancy and early development, while also examining its relevance throughout the lifespan and to healthy aging.  

The discussion also explores the roles of folate and choline as sources of methyl groups, the differences between folic acid and methylfolate, nutrient intake gaps, and why interest in methylation could create new opportunities for supplement brands to communicate the science of cellular nutrition beyond the traditional prenatal category.  

The takeaway: genetics may provide the blueprint, but nutrition is part of the complex biological machinery involved in how that blueprint is used.

About the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) 
The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), founded in 1973 and based in Washington, D.C., is the leading trade association representing the dietary supplement and functional food industry. Bringing together manufacturers, ingredient suppliers, and service providers, CRN unites its member companies around a shared commitment to science, transparency, and responsible business practices—advancing a strong, credible marketplace that supports consumer health and industry growth.

In an increasingly complex regulatory and media environment, CRN serves as the industry’s front line—shaping science-based policy, defending market access, and countering misinformation. Through strategic advocacy, self-regulatory leadership, voluntary guidelines, and evidence-based communications, CRN ensures that responsible companies are recognized, protected, and positioned to innovate and compete. Learn more at crnusa.org and follow @CRN_Supplements on X and LinkedIn.

In this episode of Supplement Source, CRN’s Jeff Ventura sits down with Dr. Isabelle Raymond, Senior Vice President of Global Medical and Clinical Affairs at Nutrafol and a nominee for CRN’s Annette Dickinson Trailblazer Award.  

A neuroscientist by training, Raymond shares how her career took her from pharmaceutical and biotech research into the dietary supplement space—and why that move opened new possibilities for scientific exploration. She discusses her groundbreaking research on hair growth in menopausal women, including leading the first published randomized, placebo-controlled trials in a population historically underrepresented in research. 

Raymond also talks about bringing rigorous scientific methodology to supplements, challenging misconceptions about the industry, and why creativity, curiosity and even failure are essential parts of scientific discovery. Her advice to the next generation of scientists is simple: stay curious, keep learning and follow what interests you.

About the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) 
The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), founded in 1973 and based in Washington, D.C., is the leading trade association representing the dietary supplement and functional food industry. Bringing together manufacturers, ingredient suppliers, and service providers, CRN unites its member companies around a shared commitment to science, transparency, and responsible business practices—advancing a strong, credible marketplace that supports consumer health and industry growth.

In an increasingly complex regulatory and media environment, CRN serves as the industry’s front line—shaping science-based policy, defending market access, and countering misinformation. Through strategic advocacy, self-regulatory leadership, voluntary guidelines, and evidence-based communications, CRN ensures that responsible companies are recognized, protected, and positioned to innovate and compete. Learn more at crnusa.org and follow @CRN_Supplements on X and LinkedIn.

In this episode of Supplement Source, CRN’s Jeff Ventura sits down with Vic Rathi, founder and CEO of Specialty Enzymes & Probiotics and a finalist for CRN’s Annette Dickinson Trailblazer Award.

Rathi reflects on more than four decades in the industry, including his early recognition that enzymes and probiotics needed greater scientific understanding and more thoughtful formulation. He discusses the influence of his father—who began producing enzymes in India in the 1950s—and how the industry has evolved from simply adding ingredients to formulations to demanding scientific evidence and proven results.

Rathi also shares what continues to fuel his passion for research and innovation, his hopes for the next generation of industry leaders, and the family philosophy that has helped guide his career: “attitude with gratitude.”

Listen for a conversation about science, leadership, curiosity and the importance of staying grounded while continuing to push an industry forward.

About the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) 
The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), founded in 1973 and based in Washington, D.C., is the leading trade association representing the dietary supplement and functional food industry. Bringing together manufacturers, ingredient suppliers, and service providers, CRN unites its member companies around a shared commitment to science, transparency, and responsible business practices—advancing a strong, credible marketplace that supports consumer health and industry growth.

In an increasingly complex regulatory and media environment, CRN serves as the industry’s front line—shaping science-based policy, defending market access, and countering misinformation. Through strategic advocacy, self-regulatory leadership, voluntary guidelines, and evidence-based communications, CRN ensures that responsible companies are recognized, protected, and positioned to innovate and compete. Learn more at crnusa.org and follow @CRN_Supplements on X and LinkedIn.

Influencers increasingly shape how consumers discover and evaluate health, wellness and dietary supplement products. But with that influence comes responsibility.

In this episode of Supplement Source, CRN’s Jeff Ventura talks with Jennifer Santos, Program Development Manager for the Institute for Responsible Influence, about efforts to bring greater transparency, accountability and trust to influencer marketing. The Institute’s Responsible Influence certification program trains creators on FTC endorsement requirements, advertising claims, sponsorship disclosures and other responsible marketing practices. 

Santos explains how creators earn certification, how certified participants receive ongoing education and monitoring, and why the program is designed as more than a one-time compliance exercise.  

The conversation also explores why these issues are particularly important for dietary supplements and other health-focused products, where consumers may place significant trust in creator recommendations. Santos discusses the shared responsibility of brands and influencers to avoid unsupported claims, clearly disclose relationships and build credibility with consumers. 

About the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) 
The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), founded in 1973 and based in Washington, D.C., is the leading trade association representing the dietary supplement and functional food industry. Bringing together manufacturers, ingredient suppliers, and service providers, CRN unites its member companies around a shared commitment to science, transparency, and responsible business practices—advancing a strong, credible marketplace that supports consumer health and industry growth.

In an increasingly complex regulatory and media environment, CRN serves as the industry’s front line—shaping science-based policy, defending market access, and countering misinformation. Through strategic advocacy, self-regulatory leadership, voluntary guidelines, and evidence-based communications, CRN ensures that responsible companies are recognized, protected, and positioned to innovate and compete. Learn more at crnusa.org and follow @CRN_Supplements on X and LinkedIn.

In this special episode of Supplement Source, host Jeff Ventura sits down with Andrew Shao of Niagen Bioscience, a nominee for the 2026 Annette Dickinson Trailblazer Award, to reflect on a career spent at the intersection of science, policy and the dietary supplement industry.

Shao shares how Annette Dickinson helped launch his career at CRN, where he worked alongside industry leaders including John Hathcock to advance science-based approaches for establishing safe upper intake levels for vitamins, minerals and other bioactives. He also discusses how those efforts influenced global regulatory thinking and helped shape resources such as the Vitamin and Mineral Safety Handbook.

The conversation turns to how the supplement industry has evolved, including greater investment in science, manufacturing standards and post-market surveillance, as well as the ongoing challenge posed by less responsible actors. Looking ahead, Shao explains why he believes NAD could follow a trajectory similar to vitamin D, with growing research and awareness potentially elevating healthy aging into a broader public health conversation.

It’s a conversation about scientific progress, regulatory evolution and what it means to blaze a trail in the responsible nutrition industry.

About the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) 
The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), founded in 1973 and based in Washington, D.C., is the leading trade association representing the dietary supplement and functional food industry. Bringing together manufacturers, ingredient suppliers, and service providers, CRN unites its member companies around a shared commitment to science, transparency, and responsible business practices—advancing a strong, credible marketplace that supports consumer health and industry growth.

In an increasingly complex regulatory and media environment, CRN serves as the industry’s front line—shaping science-based policy, defending market access, and countering misinformation. Through strategic advocacy, self-regulatory leadership, voluntary guidelines, and evidence-based communications, CRN ensures that responsible companies are recognized, protected, and positioned to innovate and compete. Learn more at crnusa.org and follow @CRN_Supplements on X and LinkedIn.