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GMP
Quality Seal
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Copyright
NNFA.
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Until
recently, finding out if a supplement product is well made required
the finely honed persistence of a private detective. You asked a
company's Quality Assurance professionals a slew of highly technical
questions about matters like microbial contamination, cleaning
solutions, and personnel training. And you often got vague or
evasive answers because such questions usually intrude into
proprietary aspects of production.
But
the good manufacturing practices (GMP) inspection program of the
National Nutritional Foods Association (NNFA) -- a trade
organization encompassing approximately 1000 producers as well as
retailers -- is changing all that. Companies are being inspected by
independent, third-party professionals who are getting answers to a
long checklist of technical questions because this inspection
program protects corporate privacy. As of January 2001, twenty
companies have now completed NNFA's inspection and certification
process and can use the GMP seal on their product labels and
literature.
GMP
inspection covers all aspects of production
Many
quality issues are included in the audit, such as double checking
the identify of raw materials to ensure one has the correct
substance, testing for the presence of heavy metals or microbials or
other contaminants, and use of stability studies to determine
accurate expiration dates. The inspection covers the entire
production process -- from receiving raw materials to shipping
completed products out the door.
"This
program will help establish credibility in the eyes of consumers,"
according to Jim Roza, QA Manager of Now Foods, whose company was
inspected in July 2000. "The person who inspected us was a 40-year
veteran of FDA inspections who is very experienced and has travelled
all over the world doing this kind of work." Roza believes the
NNFA's GMP program will dovetail nicely with the FDA's proposed GMP
standard, which should be published early this year
(2001).
GMP
program features independent, third-party inspections
NNFA's
inspection program requires that auditing companies must be
independent, with no conflict of interest, for each company that
they inspect. The inspectors are trained to conduct GMP audits
according to a checklist and performance rating system developed by
NNFA. GMP seal empowers consumers to make quality choices
Having
a solid GMP program ensures that a manufacturer is producing
consistent quality -- from batch to batch, lot to lot, bottle to
bottle and tablet to tablet. Thus, labels with this seal allow
consumers to buy with confidence, knowing that the product is well
made.
Sources
Jim
Roza, Quality Assurance (QA) Manager, Now Foods, Bloomingdale IL.
Personal communication, 10 January 2001.
Vicki
Whitsitt, Science and QA Program Manager, National Nutritional Foods
Association, Newport Beach CA. Personal communication, 13 November
2000 and 12 February 2001.
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