Las Vegas, NV—A new way to uphold consumer confidence in natural products is coming to the industry, courtesy of theNatural Products Association(NPA).
NPA announced during a SupplySide press conference that its new initiative—Safer,Simpler,Consumer Confidence and Retailer Driven (SSCI)—will help reduce supplement safety risks and harms. This SSCI is intended to be a “benchmarking standard for manufacturers” and a third-party auditing and certification system that fosters product/ingredient transparency, consistency and quality.
NPA hopes that the SSCI will create one standard that goes to the ingredient level for stakeholders; currently businesses often have multiple processes and auditing systems in place to achieve such transparency. The hope is that the SSCI will increase efficiency and decrease costs by eliminating redundant certifications and auditing processes.
Furthermore, the SSCI will create a platform for retailers, manufacturers, suppliers and farmers to network collaborate and share information. Such an Industry Leadership Group will “share best practices and ensure requirements and standards are met at a local level,” NPA believes.
Says the group, “Now, more than ever, it is imperative that safe supplements become the norm in our industry rather than a competitive edge.”
Published in WholeFoods Magazine Online, 10/6/16
