NSF International Announces Dietary Supplements Certification Program

In the last decade, the dietary supplements industry has grown rapidly. Self care has become more attractive to consumers and manufacturers have responded by developing a wide array of dietary supplements. The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 defines dietary supplements as any product (except tobacco) containing at least one of the following: vitamin, mineral, herb or botanical, amino acid, or any dietary substance used to supplement diet, including concentrates, metabolites, constituents or extracts. Unfortunately, the fast pace at which these products enter the marketplace leads the general public to question their quality and safety. The media reinforces that doubt through reports suggesting that many dietary supplements do not actually contain the ingredients or the ingredient quantities listed on the their labels. These reports create confusion among consumers about which manufacturers are credible and which products are suitable for use.

The NSF Dietary Supplements Certification Program helps manufacturers assure quality and gain credibility for their brands in a marketplace ripe for skepticism. NSF initiated the program this year by leading a consensus process through which dietary supplements manufacturers, suppliers and retailers, health care practitioners and public health officials collaborated to develop NSF Draft American National Standard 173-Dietary Supplements. The standard provides methodology and evaluation criteria for verifying dietary supplements' ingredient identities and quantities; testing them for specific undeclared contaminants such as heavy metals, pesticides and mycotoxins; and assuring conformance to Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs). NSF uses the standard to provide third-party certification for dietary supplements, enabling manufacturers to build consumer confidence by displaying the highly respected NSF Mark on certified products' labels. By displaying the NSF mark on their products, dietary supplements manufacturers assure consumers, retailers and health care practitioners that their products conform to the NSF draft standard and that they're committed to producing high-quality products. Consumers can also see a list of certified dietary supplements on NSF's Web site at www.nsf.org or in NSF listing books.

In September, NSF issued its first five dietary supplements certifications to Nutrilite, a division of Access Business Group International, LLC (formerly Amway Corp.). Chris Jacques, Director of Technical Regulatory Affairs for Access Business Group, says that the certifications will be instrumental in building consumer trust in the Nutrilite® brand. "Achieving NSF certification will be instrumental in differentiating our products from others in the marketplace," says Jacques. "The NSF Mark on our products' labels will send a clear message to consumers that our products have been independently evaluated and certified to contain the ingredients we say they contain. Such security is vital to ensuring consumer confidence in our products, and for that matter, to our industry."

Kathleen Pompliano, NSF Business Development Manager, outlines some distinctions between NSF's program and other dietary supplements certification programs. "The NSF Dietary Supplements Certification Program ensures 'chain of custody' for the test samples," she says. "Where other certification programs merely review test data supplied by the manufacturer, NSF collects product samples during plant audits and delivers them to NSF laboratories for testing. This process gives us control of samples throughout the testing process, ensuring true third-party certification."

"NSF is also the only third-party certifier for dietary supplements that's accredited by the American National Standards Institute and the Standards Council of Canada, and we've been a third-party certifier for more than 55 years," Pompliano adds.

Another key element differentiating the NSF certification program from others is the use of guidelines developed by a broad range of stakeholders. Experts from the health and nutrition industries, including supplement manufacturers, suppliers and retailers, health care practitioners and public health officials, collaborated to develop guidelines focusing on consumers' best interests. Visit the NSF Bookstore at http://www.nsf.org/business/standards_and_publications/ to purchase NSF Draft Standard 173.

John Cardellina, CRN Vice President for Botanical Science, says that the NSF Dietary Supplements Program will help assure high-quality manufacturing practices. "The Council for Responsible Nutrition and its members want to draw a sharper dividing line between products that are properly manufactured and meeting label claims, and those that are not," he says. "The program outlined by NSF International certainly is poised to shine a bright light on products manufactured to high standards of quality."

Joseph Betz, Ph.D., Vice President for Scientific and Technical Affairs, American Herbal Association, comments, "Any program able to assure customers that they are getting quality products is a valuable service to the industry. NSF has the infrastructure and the expertise to implement such a program."

For more information about the Dietary Supplements Certification Program, contact Kathleen Pompliano at 1-800-NSF-MARK or pompliano@nsf.org.

The NSF Dietary Supplements Certification Process Includes the Following Steps:

  1. Application for NSF Certification: Obtain an application at www.nsf.org or by calling 1-800-NSF-MARK.

  2. Formulation Review: The NSF Dietary Supplements Program Office provides confidential review of product formulations and labels to determine necessary testing.

  3. Plant Inspections: Trained field auditors conduct initial plant inspections and Good Manufacturing Practices audits, and assess conformity to NSF policies.

  4. Product Testing: The NSF field auditor obtains products intended for certification during the plant inspection. Products are then tested at NSF laboratories to verify conformance to the NSF Dietary Supplements Standard.

  5. Documentation Reports and Certification: