INDUSTRY NEWS: Group Unite to Increase Confidence in Natural Health Products

Under attack for questionable product quality, industry groups unite to propose more effective standards. If the industry can't police itself, the government will.

U.S. Industry Coalition Announces New CofA Standards

Joint SIDI Working Group Announces New Certificate of Analysis Guideline

Washington, D.C. (May 20, 2010)—The Joint Standardized Information on Dietary Supplement Ingredients (SIDI) Working Group—a coalition of the dietary supplement industry’s trade associations—today announced the release of the new Certificate of Analysis (CoA) Guideline, the latest in a series of voluntary guidelines for the supplement industry developed to assist finished product manufacturers with the complex process of qualifying their ingredient suppliers.

The voluntary CoA Guideline outlines the type and scope of information that should appear on a CoA provided by an ingredient supplier to its finished product manufacturer for a component or ingredient used in a dietary supplement.

“A requirement of the supplier qualification process involves verifying the information provided in an ingredient CoA, and manufacturers of dietary supplements rely on supplier CoAs to ensure finished products are GMP-compliant. It’s essential for ingredient suppliers to have a form that can be consistently used, containing the appropriate information in a clear and concise format,” said Andrew Shao, Ph.D., a spokesperson for the SIDI Working Group and CRN’s senior vice president, scientific & regulatory affairs. “By standardizing the information on CoAs, this voluntary guideline will benefit both ingredient suppliers and dietary supplement manufacturers.”

The voluntary CoA guideline, along with sample CoA templates for botanical and non-botanical ingredients, is available on the five trade associations’ websites, along with the original SIDI protocol materials.

The SIDI Working Group is a cooperative effort run by the dietary supplement industry trade associations including the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA), the Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA), the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), the Natural Products Association (NPA), and the United Natural Products Alliance (UNPA).

Contact: Elizabeth Funderburk
202.429.9260