Paragon Laboratories: The Proof Of Quality

In 1971, Paragon Laboratories, Torrance CA, was established as a contract manufacturer of tablets, capsules and powders for the nutritional market. From the beginning, the company was committed to using only the finest raw materials and the highest quality manufacturing processes. Today, that dedication has made Paragon one of the few contract manufacturing facilities in the U.S. with a full on-site laboratory and NNFA GMP certification. “We were one of the first contract manufacturers to be awarded NNFA GMP certification,” says Richard Kaufman, Paragon COO, “which has since been extended to less than 60 companies in the supplement industry.”

Such attention to detail has brought Paragon together with marketers around the globe, including mass-market and natural product brand developers, mail-order vendors, multilevel marketers, naturopaths, chiropractic practitioners and Chinese herbal practitioners. For such companies, Paragon creates custom blended powders, delivered in bulk, bottle or packet form, or as tablets or capsules. Capsule manufacturing is offered either as two-piece gelatin or vegetable-based hard-shell capsules. Tablets may be round, oblong or custom-shaped, and with or without a coating.

But, what customers really appreciate is Paragon’s extensive testing services and quality controls, which confirm the integrity of every product manufactured. Paragon conforms to or exceeds all cGMPs. To meet this standard, the company has equipped its laboratory with state-of-the-art systems such as high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) instrumentation, Atomic Absorption, FTIR and UV-VIS spectrophotometry.

From raw material to finished goods, every step of the manufacturing process is tracked and tested. Paragon controls quality by stringently scrutinizing and qualifying all prospective suppliers, quarantining all incoming raw materials immediately upon receipt and analyzing those raw materials before releasing them to production. It also guarantees quality by analyzing every formulation to confirm ingredient accuracy. This includes conducting in-process inspections throughout manufacturing by monitoring fill-weight, hardness, thickness, disintegration and friability, and testing for full-compliance verification. Every finished unit dose is then visually inspected and quarantined until quality control chemists complete a final quality control review. Bottled samples are then retained of each production batch for future reference.

This extensive process assures that the finished product is exactly what the customer ordered and that the product’s labeling is accurate.Ultimately, it also means that the customer’s product is in a position, consistent with NNFA’s guidelines, to carry the coveted GMP seal on the label—something consumers are increasingly demanding. “We continue to look for new ways to better serve our customer’s needs,” adds Mr. Kaufman. “We have several committees that meet on a regular basis to establish and implement goals to maintain these high standards.”

Within the past two years, Paragon has doubled the size of its production facilities. In addition to product manufacturing, Paragon offers formulation assistance, labeling support and product finishing into jars, bottles, cans and packets.

Mr. Kaufman said the future holds some interesting events for the industry, as well as for Paragon. “Hopefully the FDA will provide GMP regulations that will assure the overall quality of supplements, while still maintaining their affordability.” In the meantime, you can rely on companies like Paragon Laboratories with GMP certification as the “Proof of Quality.”—R.M.W.


Paragon Laboratories
20433 Earl Street
Torrance, CA 90503
Telephone: 310-370-1563; 800-231-3670
Fax: 310-370-7354
E-mail: sales@paragonlabsusa.com
Website: www.paralabs.com