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Testing

GNC Nutritional Supplements To Be Evaluated And Certified By NSF International
Collaborative agreement is designed to ensure GNC products meet rigorous requirements of NSF's testing and certification program. (November 2003)
 
ConsumerLab.com's Current Test Results
Listing of the most current results from this independent testing lab. (May 2003)
 
Four Websites List Quality Products and Companies
Do your favorite brands pass the quality test? Four organizations now do quality certification of supplements and manufacturers. (December 2002)
 
ConsumerLab Gives Names of Brands that Fail
ConsumerLab now publishes names of brands that fail testing as well as those that pass. Also, newest reviews of saw palmetto and ginkgo biloba show discouraging results, while brands of vitamin C improve. (May 2003)
 
Intracellular Tests for Vitamin E, Co-Q10 And Selenium Now Available
Diagnosis of nutrient deficiencies gains an important tool: New tests pinpoint cellular-level nutrient levels by examining tissue cultures. (January 2003)
 
USP Quality Seal For Supplements Now On Store Shelves
The US Pharmacopeia's new quality seal shows a supplement has passed testing for label accuracy, potency, freedom from contaminants, and good manufacturing practices (GMPs). (December 2002)
 
National Nutritional Foods Association's Dietary Supplement Manufacturing Certification Program to Enter Fifth Year
Forty companies have now passed the inspection/verification process and may use the NNFA-GMP seal. These companies are listed on the NNFA website. (November 2002)
 
ConsumerLab Finds Enormous Variation In Strength Of Garlic Supplements
Of 14 garlic products, some contained more allicin than claimed, but nearly one-quarter contained less than the therapeutic amount. (October 2002)
 
Sexual Enhancement Supplements Do Poorly In ConsumerLab Review
Effectiveness of most ingredients has not been well proven and many products are poorly made. (September 2002)
 
ConsumerLab Screens Supplements for Olympic Committee Banned Substances
Nine products have passed ConsumerLab.com's new program of screening supplements for substances banned by the US Olympic Committee. (September 2002)
 
ConsumerLab Finds Some Spoilage and Inaccuracy Among Omega-3 And 6 Supplements
In tests of black current, borage, evening primrose, and flaxseed oils, 19 of 25 products passed. (August 2002)
 
ConsumerLab Finds Lead Contamination In Some Mineral Supplements
ConsumerLab finds lead contamination in approximately 5 to 10 percent of iron, magnesium, and potassium supplements. (July 2002)
 
ConsumerLab Adds Natural Product Encyclopedia To Website
ConsumerLab subscribers can now access The Natural Pharmacist database/encyclopedia on the ConsumerLab website. (May 2002)
 
NSF Certifies Perrigo Good Sense® Products
Perrigo's Good Sense® store brand is the first to earn quality certification from NSF International. These products are sold in drug stores, supermarkets and retail chains. (April 2002)
 
US Pharmacopeia Revs Up Certification Program
Pharmavite's Nature Made vitamin and mineral products are first to undergo the US Pharmacopeia (USP) Dietary Supplement Verification Program (DSVP) process for certifying dietary supplement quality. (March 2002)
 
ConsumerLab Adds New Features to Website
ConsumerLab.com recently added two new services to its website: a search feature and a section on recalls and warnings. Also, ConsumerLab's most recent round of testing discovered potentially excessive levels of B vitamins in some brands. (February 2002)
 
Quality Seal Reaches Supplement Shelves
The National Nutritional Foods Association (NNFA)'s GMP certification seal is beginning to appear on the labels of supplement products. Twenty companies have now passed independent inspections of their manufacturing processes -- covering everything from incoming raw materials to finished products being shipped out the door. (February 2001)
 
NSF International Announces Quality Certification Program
NSF International's (NSF) new quality certification program includes independent, third-party inspection of manufacturing plants and product testing. The program is designed to verify the presence and potency levels of ingredients listed on the label and to check for contamination by heavy metals, pesticides, and fungi. Passing products will be listed on the NSF website, which is accessible free of charge, and are allowed the use of the NSF quality seal. (February 2001)
 
Retailer's Testing Program Points to Quality Conundrum
Imagine buying aspirin on the strength of a testing program administered by your local pharmacy. Sound far-fetched? Not for dietary supplements! Vitacost.com is putting popular supplement products to the test at an independent lab, then pulling those that flunk from its shelves. While such an approach certainly gets the attention of consumers, what does it say about product quality and consumer perception thereof? (September 2000)
 
Consumers Want Quality!
Independent testing and evaluation programs are just coming on line, but the trend is highly positive. We survey supplement testing organizations (including a website that publishes results), and call for action on strengthening and expanding national standards and programs. (June 2000)
 
New Quality Seal Empowers Consumers
ConsumerLab.com's new quality seal answers a vital question: "Does this supplement really work?" (February 2000)
 
What's Really in the Bottle?
Until recently, independent testing of dietary supplements was conducted either privately or not at all -- leaving consumers to wonder, "What's really in the bottle?" Now, several new initiatives are providing information that will help consumers know if they are getting what they pay for. (December 1999)

 

 

 

   
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(c) Copyright 1999-2003 Dietary Supplement Quality Initiative. For permission to reprint, please contact our editor.