Quality Control

NOW testing program reveals ‘alarming quality failings’ of berberine products online

20-Dec-2023 By Asia Sherman

Natural products manufacturer NOW has reported that dozens of "no name" berberine supplements sold on Amazon and Walmart.com do not meet potency claims on label.

Majority of immune supplements bought on Amazon found to have labels that don’t match contents

11-Aug-2022 By Hank Schultz

A study published yesterday by a group that included researchers from the University of Mississippi found that fewer than half of 30 immune supplements bought on Amazon had labels that accurately reflected their contents.

Alkemist Labs launches quality program featuring easy to read test results, verification seal for labels

24-May-2022 By Hank Schultz

Alkemist Labs has announced a new quality and transparency program featuring validated, simplified test documents that can be shared with clients and customers. It’s the culmination of a seven year development process, the company said.

Low potency products still the norm on Amazon, NOW finds in CoQ10, quercetin tests

09-May-2022 By Hank Schultz

Supplement manufacturer NOW found in a new set of tests of CoQ10 and quercetin supplements sold on Amazon that quality problems persist for products sold on the site and in some ways may have gotten worse.

Researchers propose ‘Probiotics Identity Card’ based on DNA and flow cytometry

21-Feb-2022 By Hank Schultz

Researchers based in Italy and Ireland have proposed a two step approach to validating and enumerating probiotic supplements. A stakeholder group commented that the approach holds promise for better quality control within the industry.

NutraCast: Gene Bruno, NutraScience Labs, on the jump in shady business practices

14-Jan-2022 By Danielle Masterson

The pandemic has seen no shortage of warning letters, with the FDA and FTC doubling down on their efforts to stop a number of shady business practices. Gene Bruno, Vice President of Scientific and Regulatory Affairs for NutraScience Labs, says there has...

Amazon requires testing for illegal weight loss, sexual enhancement ingredients

02-Nov-2021 By Hank Schultz

Amazon has updated its specifications for dietary supplements with a new set of requirements for sellers of weight management or sexual enhancement products as well as changes to COA stipulations.

Magnesium supplements: 'Disturbing' discrepancies in actual and declared content

30-Sep-2021 By Nikki Hancocks

A new investigation into 116 Magnesium (Mg) food supplements on the Polish market reveals that huge differences between the declared and the actual content mean users may consume up to 304% more or 98% less Mg per day than they realise.

LGC launches Informed Protein to level the playing field for protein brands

28-Sep-2021 By Stephen Daniells

LGC is expanding its certification schemes with the introduction of a new program for protein products, with one brand owner calling it “a really important and timely product certification”.

NOW testing raises concerns about potency, heavy metals, label accuracy, & synthetics in curcumin supplements

06-Aug-2021 By Stephen Daniells

Supplement manufacturer NOW alleges that among 23 “unknown” curcumin products it purchased recently on Amazon and subjected to in-house and third-party analytical testing, 12 products failed at least one of the tests.

NYAG crisis forced industry to improve via SSCI initiative, event panel asserts

16-Jul-2021 By Hank Schultz

The Supplement Safety Compliance Initiative has strengthened the industry in the wake of New York Attorney General affair and has put it in a far better position to deal with future challenges, attendees at a recent event were told.

'Supplement Certified' created to enforce carotenoid and omega-3 quality control

13-May-2021 By Nikki Hancocks

Professors at the Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT), Ireland, have established an independent scientific certification for assessing product label claims in a bid to improve trust and transparency in the carotenoid or omega-3 markets.

‘Steps in the right direction’: Amazon updates/ expands CoA options for dietary supplement sellers

19-Apr-2021 By Stephen Daniells

Tech giant Amazon has updated its requirements for dietary supplements, with notable changes to Certificates of Analysis (CoA) issued by in-house laboratories.

Amazon dietary supplement specs: ‘They make contracts start to matter,’ says lawyer

11-Mar-2021 By Stephen Daniells

The new specifications for dietary supplements from Amazon are focusing attention much more on the contracts between brands and manufacturers, industry lawyers and experts tell NutraIngredients-USA.

CRN: Quality Is the Price of Entry—Not a Point of Difference

22-Dec-2020 By Steve Mister, President & CEO, Council for Responsible Nutrition

CRN President and CEO Steve Mister argues that cooperation on quality issues will benefit supplement manufacturers and retailers alike.

Amazon issues sweeping quality specs for supplements sold on its site

04-Dec-2020 By Hank Schultz

Amazon has begun requiring supplement marketers to provide comprehensive testing results and other documentation in order to be able to sell products on its site.

News in brief

Gemini Pharmaceuticals’ quality laboratory achieves ISO 17025 accreditation

06-Aug-2020 By Stephen Daniells

New York-based Gemini Pharmaceuticals has achieved International Standard ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accreditation for Testing Laboratory from ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB) for its in-house analytical laboratory.

New study highlights quality variations in commercial colostrum products

30-Jun-2020 By Stephen Daniells

The bioactivity of commercial bovine colostrum samples may vary significantly, says a new study partially funded by colostrum-based nutrition company, PanTheryx, which the company says aims to shine a spotlight on sourcing and handling.

NOW testing reveals CoQ10, SAMe products sold on Amazon to be of almost uniformly low potency

14-May-2020 By Hank Schultz

Supplement manufacturer NOW reports that among CoQ10 and SAMe products it purchased recently on Amazon and subjected to analytical testing, only a few came close to meeting label claim for the amount of active ingredients, while most had little or none...

BAPP lab guidance on turmeric comes as interest in botanical reaches fever pitch

03-Apr-2020 By Hank Schultz

The Botanical Adulteration Prevention Program has issued a lab guidance document on turmeric. The publication is timely as interest in the botanical, which was already high, has spiked during the current coronavirus crisis.

GOED analysis supports quality levels for majority of US omega-3 supplements

05-Feb-2020 By Stephen Daniells

The majority of the 48 most widely sold retail EPA/DHA omega-3 dietary supplements on the US market are of good quality, according to a new analysis by GOED that the trade groups calls “a timely snapshot of product quality in the US”.

Consumer Reports says it found quality problems in echinacea, turmeric supplements

31-Oct-2019 By Hank Schultz

A Consumer Reports article detailing what it calls quality failures in turmeric and echinacea supplements has been assailed as being based on false assumptions and arbitrary parameters.

BAPP bulletin cites significant oregano adulteration

30-Oct-2019 By Hank Schultz

Oregano in the spice, supplement and fragrances trades is significantly adulterated with ‘filler’ materials, according to a new BAPP bulletin.

AOAC approves methods to ID, quantify cranberry constituents

14-Oct-2019 By Hank Schultz

AOAC recognition of two cranberry methods means there is finally consensus on how to identify and quantify the proanthocyanins (PACs) within the botanical, the test’s developer says.

NSF to start offering hemp/CBD testing, certification

24-Sep-2019 By Hank Schultz

NSF International has unveiled a new certification program for the hemp industry, which the organization says will help address the ongoing quality questions in this sector.

Call for public NMR database viewed favorably by industry experts

04-Dec-2018 By Hank Schultz

A recent call by a formidable team of researchers for a publicly accessible NMR database was met with approval by experts in the natural products industry.

75% of Reishi supplements don’t actually contain Reishi mushroom, says USP analysis

10-Nov-2017 By Stephen Daniells

Only five out of 19 supplement products labeled as Reishi mushroom purchased in the U.S. could be verified as genuine Reishi mushroom, says a new study that highlights quality issues in the category.

BI joins the Natural Health Product Research Alliance to improve botanical authentication and quality

16-Oct-2017

Nutraceutical ingredients manufacturer BI is now a member of the Natural Health Product (NHP) Research Alliance, a collaborative group launched by the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada, which focuses on creating new verification standards.

BI Nutraceuticals’ Reno facility gets safe quality food certificate

16-Mar-2016

NSF International has given BI Nutraceuticals' West Coast manufacturing facility located in McCarran, NV its SQF 2000 (Safe Quality Food) certificate.

FoodState hopes new, formalized transparency initiative can help burnish industry's image

28-Jul-2015 By Hank Schultz

FoodState, the maker of the MegaFood brand of whole-food vitamins, has long been an advocate of what CEO Robert Craven calls “Transparency with a capital T.” The company has now boldfaced that “T” with a new plan to provide greater visibility into its...

Updated: NBTY appreciates AG's efforts & will comply. "We are confident that our products meet our label claims"

NBTY, Pharmavite, Nature's Way and Nutraceutical Corp. pulled into NY AG’s probe

24-Feb-2015 By Stephen Daniells

NY AG Eric Schneiderman has extended his investigation into herbal supplements by sending letters to four leading manufacturers demanding detailed ingredient and quality control information on every herbal supplement they sell in his state.

Fine print of GMP compliance still a mystery to many small manufacturers, expert says

14-Oct-2014 By Hank Schultz

The smallest tier of dietary supplement manufacturers still, as a class, lack comprehensive understanding of GMP requirements, according a digital solutions provider.

Gaia Herbs CEO: ‘Our biggest driver is to continue to control the supply chain because a quality herbal product requires a quality herb’

11-Mar-2014 By Stephen DANIELLS

The big three issues for botanicals of identity, adulteration, and solvent residue can be eliminated by controlling the supply chain from seed to shelf, says Ric Scalzo, CEO of Gaia Herbs

USP monograph ‘strengthens krill’s position in the marketplace’: Suppliers

11-Dec-2013 By Stephen DANIELLS

A long-awaited monograph for krill oil from the Food Chemicals Codex of the US Pharmacopeia ‘will only strengthen krill’s position in the marketplace’, according to leading krill suppliers, but questions remain over some parameters and how individual...