NPA Responds to ConsumerLab Multivitamin Report

The Natural Products Association (NPA; Washington, DC) is sounding off on a June ConsumerLab.com report that found 30% of tested multivitamins did not meet their label claims.

“ConsumerLab.com is a company whose business model has long raised questions about its results,” said NPA executive director and CEO John Gay. “The bottom line is that the supplement industry has a strong record of quality, one that is bolstered by extensive regulatory and self-regulatory efforts. Now that the Food and Drug Administration has implemented the good manufacturing practices rule for companies of all sizes, manufacturing operations and quality measures must be in place to ensure that what is listed on the label is what is in the product.”

NPA also houses its own GMP certification program for dietary supplement and ingredient manufacturers. Nearly 70 companies have achieved the certification.

The ConsumerLab.com report found a variety of products to be inconsistent with their labeling. One multivitamin contained twice as much vitamin A as claimed while another was missing 20% of its calcium. The report also claims that a children’s chewable contained more than the upper tolerable limit of niacin and a children’s gummy exceeded levels of vitamin A and zinc. One pet supplement carried lead contamination.