Seeking Supplement Safety

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Friday, 19 November 2010 18:01

Bedford, New Hampshire, November 2010 — Not all supplements are created equally, but Emerson Ecologics, the largest provider of dietary supplements and services to healthcare professionals, has been taking aggressive steps to make it more clear to healthcare professionals and their patients which manufacturers to trust when it comes to a supplement's purity, identity and potency. In May, the company launched a first-of-its-kind quality assurance program called the Emerson Quality Program, or EQP. https://www.emersonecologics.com/Quality/QualitySummaries.aspx Emerson Ecologics distributes more than 20,000 products from hundreds of dietary supplement manufacturers to healthcare practitioners who recommend supplements to their patients. EQP was formed to distribute unbiased and verified information about the manufacturing practices of its suppliers to healthcare professionals. The EQP, which is voluntary for manufacturers and comes at no cost to participate, is growing. To be considered for the EQP program, supplement manufacturers must be certified GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) and compliant by a third-party such as NSF International, United States Pharmacopeia (USP) or Natural Products Association (NPA). Manufacturers that meet EQP standards are awarded one of three EQP seals. The partner seal means the company is certified GMP compliant and has a robust raw material supplier qualification program. The silver seal attests to the use of the most precise and sensitive testing methodologies and the gold seal recognizes companies who are going above and beyond current legal testing and auditing requirements, as well as voluntarily submitting to stability and more extensive and frequent contamination testing. Concerns about the quality of dietary supplements have haunted the industry for decades, which is another reason why many manufacturers proactively seek third-party quality verification to ensure credibility. The following companies have passed rigorous verification to attain the EQP seal for best quality practices: EQP GOLD SEAL: Douglas Laboratories, Gaia Herbs, Heel, Immune Health Basics, Integrative Therapeutics, Nordic Naturals, Protocol for Life Balance, Pure Encapsulations, Sedona Labs and Vital Nutrients. EQP SILVER SEAL: Designs for Health, Ming Tong, Omega Nutrition, Perque, Quincy Bioscience, Tang Long and Wise Woman Herbals. EQP PARTNER SEAL: Advanced Formula Enzymes, Agape Health Products, Allergy Research Group, BioGenesis Nutraceuticals, DaVinci Laboratories, EcoNugenics, Innate Response, Metabolic Maintenance, Montiff, NESS Enzymes, NewMark, NutraRx, PhysioLogics, Proper Nutrition, Rx Vitamins for Pets and Vitanica. To view the EQP manufacturers and requirements visit: https://www.emersonecologics.com/Quality/QualitySummaries.aspx. To participate call 800-654-4432. SOURCE: Emerson Ecologics < Prev   Next >