NPA has formed a partnership with the Informed-Choice testing program to expand the reach of its efforts to test for banned substances in U.S. supplements for athletes.
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The Natural Products Association (NPA; Washington, DC) announced this morning it has entered into a partnership with Informed-Choice, an international testing program for sports-nutrition products. Together, NPA and Informed-Choice plan to expand access to testing of dietary supplements for sports, and minimize the risk of supplement contamination with banned substances identified by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
“Athletes deserve to know the supplements they are using contain only those ingredients listed on the label,” says Daniel Fabricant, PhD, CEO and executive director of NPA. “Anyone who wants to know if a product is approved for use in sport will simply look for the Informed-Choice logo. Not only will NPA’s partnership with Informed-Choice increase athlete and consumer confidence, it will also raise retailer and supplier confidence.”
Informed-Choice was first set up in 2007 as a program to certify manufacturing facilities, finished products, and raw materials as being free of banned substances. It is administered by LGC (Lexington, KY). To receive certification as an Informed-Choice Certified Site, manufacturers must undergo a rigorous audit of their production processes, including a site visit and assessment of 20 swab samples. With the new partnership, Informed-Choice and NPA expect to increase the number of Informed-Choice Certified Sites across the country and be better positioned to protect consumers from adulterated products for sports nutrition.
“Informed-Choice is designed to minimize the risk of contamination, and the partnership with NPA will help introduce the program to even more manufacturers, which can only be a good thing for the supplements industry in the U.S.,” says Paul Klinger, business development manager for Informed-Choice in the United States.
NPA members will also be given preferential access for their facilities to become Certified Sites as a result of the partnership. Fabricant adds that “NPA had the first and oldest GMP certification program with third-party auditor Underwriters Laboratories (UL; Northbrook, IL); the addition of Informed-Choice certification now gives our members a one-stop shop for all of their certification needs.
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Michael Crane
Associate Editor
Nutritional Outlook Magazine
michael.crane@ubm.com
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