It took more than ten years after legislation was passed for the FDA to actually get to work in establishing and requiring current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMPs) for the dietary supplement industry. Not until 2006 did the FDA begin to phase in oversight for cGMP compliance.
Instead of waiting for the FDA standards for dietary supplements, industry members decided to take matters into their own hands. The Natural Products Association (NPA) and others stepped into the vacuum and established a GMP certification program.
This certification program drew from good manufacturing practices around the world and in other industries - like pharmaceutical and food manufacturing - to develop a set of manufacturing standards that ensured high quality products.
NOW® is always on the lookout for ways to verify the quality of our products. So we jumped at this opportunity.
- NOW was one of the first manufacturers in 2000 to seek GMP certification. We were awarded an ‘A’ rating by the NPA after an intense audit process. Our last cGMP inspection by the FDA occurred May 13, 2015.
- NOW has undergone re-certification each year. We’ve consistently maintained an ‘A’ rating.
Today, even though the FDA’s cGMPs are now the law of the land, the NPA certification program has additional standards. When you combine this certification with the other measures we take (see below) you can see we meet or exceed FDA requirements.
Industry-Leading Standards
GMPs aren’t the only standards we adhere to when guaranteeing the quality and safety of our products:
- NOW does not allow the use of irradiated ingredients.
- NOW conducts independent inspections of many of our ingredient suppliers to make sure our raw materials meet our standards.
- NOW’s pioneering labs have established industry-wide standards for testing raw materials.
- NOW is one of the few manufacturers to perform extensive finished product testing. Our investment in in-house laboratory capacity allows us to do this.
- NOW uses current technology to ensure product freshness, such as Ageless® oxygen absorbers, gas flushing, desiccants and product-specific packaging that helps protect against light and heat.
- NOW has designated certain manufacturing facilities as allergen-free so we can produce allergy-friendly food products safely.
- NOW uses non-active excipients in our products sparingly, and we hold our non-active ingredients to the same standards as our active ingredients.
Organic and Non-GMO Certification
NOW also relies on two additional forms of certification to give you confidence in the quality of our products:
- Our organic products and ingredients are certified organic by Quality Assurance International (QAI). QAI is one of the leading U.S. Department of Agriculture-accredited organic product certifying agencies in the United States. NOW is a QAI-certified organic manufacturer. We’re audited each year for compliance with the National Organic Program (NOP).
- Several of NOW’s products are labeled as Non-GMO Project Verified. This means these products contain ingredients that have been verified to be free of genetically-modified organisms (GMOs). The Non-GMO Project, an organization founded by natural product retailers, puts our non-GMO products through a rigorous verification process. Our manufacturing facility has been audited by The Non-GMO Project.
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