03.23.18
The Natural Products Association (NPA) announced the completion of the pilot audits for the Supplement Safety & Compliance Initiative (SSCI), an industry-driven initiative led by retailers focused on enhancing the authenticity, safety, and compliance of dietary supplements.
“This pioneering initiative strives to create global harmonization through standard benchmarking, a critical piece in the initiative to send a clear message to millions of consumers that they can have confidence in the safety and authenticity of the dietary supplements and natural products they use each and every day,” said Dan Fabricant, PhD, president and CEO of NPA.
“SSCI’s goal is to bolster consumer confidence and increase transparency and safety in the dietary supplement and natural product industry from farm to factory to finished dosage, which aligns with current consumer and regulator expectations,” said Guru Ramanathan, PhD, chief innovation officer & senior vice president for GNC. “This initiative will unify and promote supply chain quality benchmarking, and provide a unique stakeholder platform for collaboration, knowledge sharing, and networking. Stakeholders that join this group will be pioneers in the formation of industry benchmarking, converging numerous industry safety standards and determining equivalency between safety schemes.”
“Walmart is excited to be a part of the Supplement Safety & Compliance Initiative, said Dadrion A. Gaston, Senior Director, Corporate Ethics & Compliance, Walmart. “SSCI’s benchmark creates global standard harmonization while promoting continuous quality improvement enhancing dietary supplement compliance and consumer safety. SSCI is a game-changer and a bold step forward for the industry. We look forward to having additional retailers and others in the industry join this effort as a united force to enhance the authenticity and safety of dietary supplements ultimately protecting the health and safety of consumers everywhere.”
NPA thanked Nature’s Way, US Pharma Labs, and GNC’s Nutra Manufacturing Operation for allowing the SSCI pilot audits to be conducted at their facilities. “We would also like to thank GNC, and Walmart for their continued leadership in developing this initiative,” said Dr. Fabricant.
With the completion of the pilot audit, the next steps will be to use the data toward developing a benchmark and refining the current guidance document and audit tool. The pilot audits helped identify the discrepancies between the different auditors with the aim to address those gaps with the establishment of benchmark standards.
“This pioneering initiative strives to create global harmonization through standard benchmarking, a critical piece in the initiative to send a clear message to millions of consumers that they can have confidence in the safety and authenticity of the dietary supplements and natural products they use each and every day,” said Dan Fabricant, PhD, president and CEO of NPA.
“SSCI’s goal is to bolster consumer confidence and increase transparency and safety in the dietary supplement and natural product industry from farm to factory to finished dosage, which aligns with current consumer and regulator expectations,” said Guru Ramanathan, PhD, chief innovation officer & senior vice president for GNC. “This initiative will unify and promote supply chain quality benchmarking, and provide a unique stakeholder platform for collaboration, knowledge sharing, and networking. Stakeholders that join this group will be pioneers in the formation of industry benchmarking, converging numerous industry safety standards and determining equivalency between safety schemes.”
“Walmart is excited to be a part of the Supplement Safety & Compliance Initiative, said Dadrion A. Gaston, Senior Director, Corporate Ethics & Compliance, Walmart. “SSCI’s benchmark creates global standard harmonization while promoting continuous quality improvement enhancing dietary supplement compliance and consumer safety. SSCI is a game-changer and a bold step forward for the industry. We look forward to having additional retailers and others in the industry join this effort as a united force to enhance the authenticity and safety of dietary supplements ultimately protecting the health and safety of consumers everywhere.”
NPA thanked Nature’s Way, US Pharma Labs, and GNC’s Nutra Manufacturing Operation for allowing the SSCI pilot audits to be conducted at their facilities. “We would also like to thank GNC, and Walmart for their continued leadership in developing this initiative,” said Dr. Fabricant.
With the completion of the pilot audit, the next steps will be to use the data toward developing a benchmark and refining the current guidance document and audit tool. The pilot audits helped identify the discrepancies between the different auditors with the aim to address those gaps with the establishment of benchmark standards.
