Citing public health importance in a Time magazine interview, the new head of the Natural Product Association (NPA) Daniel Fabricant said he returned to the industry after serving as regulatory government officer at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) when he recognized he could make a difference at his new post.

“I started to realize there is a lot I can do outside the agency to drive some of the issues I started to deal with inside in the agency, and that we can use the leverage we have to drive those initiatives,” he said.

According to Fabricant, making the switch is simply a matter of title, with both his prior FDA role and present NPA position serving the same primary function. “It’s really about making sure the consumer has access to safe products. The thing we did particularly well when I was at the agency was tie it to public health,” he said.

Noting how the natural movement has gone more mainstream, Fabricant said you go into any store now and  see many natural and organic products that you may not have seen 10-15 years ago, which is why disseminating correct information in the $32 billion dollar is so essential.

“I think it’s about building a community across all chains of distribution throughout the supply chain and making sure everyone is on board with the concepts that got us going,” he said.

More conversation is what Fabricant wants to hear in the industry, creating a communicative group among the government and public. “This industry has more in common than it does separate. I want to get people talking,” he said.

Calling Fabricant the King of Natural Foods, Time reported that the healthcare guru himself takes a daily multivitamin, showing the director himself supplements his diet with a pill daily.