Before making a choice
What does an official source tell me?
Different records answer different questions. Match the record to the claim before letting it settle your decision.
Approval records answer product questions
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) keeps drug records.
On a government drug list, the product is identified by its National Drug Code, shortened to NDC.
As of September 2026, the FDA says a product’s entry on the NDC list does not mean the medicine is approved or that the FDA checked the information submitted about it.
Read the basisFDA on what a drug-list entry means
Ask which record backs the claim you are reading. Then ask whether the record concerns the same finished product and proposed use.
An advisory meeting does not change a list
As of September 2026, a vote by an FDA advisory committee offers advice; it leaves the compounding ingredient rules unchanged.
Read the basisFDA explanation of the advisory process
A panel formed to advise the agency is called an advisory committee.
A headline about its discussion is not a finished rule.
A harm report leaves cause open
The FDA says a report of a problem does not establish that the medicine caused it; those reports also do not tell us how often the problem occurs.
Read the basisFDA’s explanation of reported problems
A large count of reports, by itself, does not prove the medicine caused those problems. Few reports do not prove there is little or no risk.
Ask for evidence about what happened to people who took the medicine, beyond a count of reports.