Washington, D.C., January 29, 2019—The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), the leading trade association for the dietary supplement and functional food industry, applauds the release of new ANSI-accredited standards to evaluate a dietary supplement firm’s adherence to current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMPs). The release of these standards has the potential to streamline third-party audit inspections by providing a single, widely accepted, and consensus-approved paradigm for evaluating a manufacturing facility’s conformity to cGMPs—the foundation of product quality and integrity. The consensus-based standards, known as the NSF/ANSI 455-2 Good Manufacturing Practices for Dietary Supplements, are part of a critical self-regulatory initiative developed in collaboration with The Global Retailer and Manufacturer Alliance (GRMA), of which CRN is a member.
“As demand for innovative, beneficial dietary supplement products increases, responsible companies understand they increasingly need to demonstrate through the inspections and auditing programs of third parties that they do comply with the law to meet consumers’ needs; the occasional visits from FDA are not enough,” said Megan Olsen, assistant general counsel, CRN. “By establishing a single measuring stick on which manufacturers, retailers, academics and auditors all agree, that encompasses federal regulatory cGMP requirements, as well as retailer requirements, these standards will level the field for all industry players. They can provide added assurance that each product manufactured to these obligations goes to market meeting the strict expectations of lawmakers, retailers and consumers.”
“CRN supports additional ways for retailers and manufacturers to demonstrate compliance and transparency to produce high quality, safe products for consumers, and we also recognize the importance of aligning these industry self-regulatory initiatives,” said Gisele Atkinson, vice president, quality & technical affairs, CRN. “CRN encourages widespread adoption of the new ANSI auditing standards for dietary supplements and for the industry to consider the Supplement OWL’s Commercial Data Exchange (CDX) platform for the integration of self-regulatory initiatives, such as GRMA. The CDX provides a centralized site to house self-regulatory information and to share confidential information such as the third-party audit reports certifying conformance with the ANSI auditing standards.”
For more information on the NSF/ANSI 455-2 Good Manufacturing Practices for Dietary Supplements: www.grmalliance.org. To learn more about the Supplement OWL, visit www.SupplementOWL.org.
The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), founded in 1973, is a Washington, D.C.-based trade association representing 150+ dietary supplement and functional food manufacturers, ingredient suppliers, and companies providing services to those manufacturers and suppliers. In addition to complying with a host of federal and state regulations governing dietary supplements and food in the areas of manufacturing, marketing, quality control and safety, our manufacturer and supplier members also agree to adhere to additional voluntary guidelines as well as to CRN’s Code of Ethics. Visit www.crnusa.org. Follow us on Twitter @CRN_Supplements, Facebook, and LinkedIn.