The Value of Quality Assurance in Nutraceuticals

Quality Assurance in Nutraceuticals is Key to Industry Success

Consumers continue to show high interest in health and wellness products. With an increasing number of products entering the nutraceutical market segment, many supplement brands rely on contract manufacturing. Dr. Haven McCall, CEO at Canyon Labs, writes in ContractPharma, that the global contract manufacturing sees strong and continued growth to 11.5 billion US$ by 2028, and demand needs to be kept up „in a responsible way that ensures safety requirements are maintained.“

Complying with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) current good manufacturing practices (cGMPs) is of paramount importance „to ensure that activities related to manufacturing, packaging, or holding dietary ingredients or dietary supplements are done in a manner that will not adulterate or misbrand such nutritional ingredients or dietary supplements,“ McCall comments in his article. Despite the fact that cGMPs have been in use for about 15 years, violations, such as using illegal ingredients, disease claims, heavy metal contents, mislabelling or inappropriate production conditions cause the FDA to send 1600 observations and 25 warning letters on a yearly basis.

In his article, McCall calls on the importance for each brand owner and contract manufacturer to implement a thorough quality program and gives tips and tricks on how to set up a system and processes that manage any quality-related topics that are sometimes bound to happen.

The full article on ContractPharma.com named „Dietary Supplement Quality Assurance Programs Critical to Natural Products Industry Success“ can be read here.

Sensient’s Comprehensive Certification Program

At Sensient, we take pride in working to exceed industry standards for product quality, safety, and security. Producing safe, high-quality products is a core principle and driving force behind our culture. In fact, it is so important to us and to what we do, that it is part of Sensient’s Corporate Creed.

Sensient’s Certasure™ food safety program ensures proactive, preventive measures to keep botanical colourants safe and authentic. In an assessment of 500 natural colour materials from around the globe, Sensient’s Certasure™ program failed 1 out of 4 natural raw material samples for either microbiological contamination, adulteration, heavy metal content, pesticides, or residual solvents. That statistic is alarming, and what nutraceutical and food manufacturers should be most aware of is that these failed batches may still end up being sold into the market. It should not be this way!

It is up to suppliers to ensure that raw materials from botanical sources are safe and authentic. Yet how well are suppliers testing to guarantee product safety? Testing is quite a task. Considering the analytical technology and equipment needed, it can be very cost-intensive, especially for small-scale suppliers with limited capabilities. Yet manufacturers must have peace of mind when formulating with plant-based ingredients, as the potential of a brand’s recall can be significant and the impact on brand reputation even greater.

A robust quality department and food safety program is an investment, and the expertise and depth of Sensient‘s quality assurance department is a true asset in the natural colouring business. Food safety is a passionate topic for us and we welcome any conversation! You can contact us below should you have any questions about how the Certasure™ program keeps our raw materials used in natural colours safe and authentic.