NPA Invites Experts to Advise New Supplement Safety and Compliance Initiative

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The Supplement Safety and Compliance Initiative, a new project led by the Natural Products Association (NPA; Washington, DC) and several of the largest retailers of dietary supplements, announced today it is seeking experts to sit on several of its key committees and working groups. NPA says it is now accepting nominations to the SSCI benchmark committee, technical working group, and general working group.

The SSCI was first created in January with a similar philosophy as the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), except with a focus on dietary supplements rather than food products. The SSCI’s mission is to support consumer confidence in the quality and safety of supplement products by increasing the number of qualified auditors available to manufacturers, creating benchmark standards, and more. GNC, Walmart, Vitamin Shoppe, and Whole Foods are its founding members.

To start with, the SSCI benchmark committee aims to confirm whether supplement safety systems, standards, and supporting procedures are in line with benchmark standards outlined in the SSCI guidance document. Nominees to the committee should have a degree in a food, nutrition, or bioscience–related disciplines. NPA says it is also seeking experts for this committee with detailed knowledge of supplement safety-management systems, audit principles and procedures, accreditation and certification processes, and applicable legislative and regulatory requirements.

The SSCI technical working groups are seeking technical experts from retailers, manufactures, food service operators, standard owners, service providers, accreditation bodies, industry associations, and more. Current groups are being formed to focus on auditor compliance, regulatory affairs, raw material cultivation/production, and SSCI guidance document maintenance. There’s also the SSCI general working groups, which will focus on communications/media, ensuring that set requirements are met at a local level, and education and outreach to implement SSCI goals.

 “NPA and SSCI are seeking out experts who will help us achieve the goals of promoting safety, compliance, and consumer confidence in each step of the supply chain-from farm to store shelf,” says Dan Fabricant, PhD, CEO and executive director of NPA, in a press release.

Read more:

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NPA and Leading Supplement Retailers Unveil New Initiative to Promote Supplement Safety and Consumer Confidence

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Michael Crane
Associate Editor
Nutritional Outlook Magazine
michael.crane@ubm.com