UNPA, Chinese Groups Announce Initiative on Botanical Ingredient Verification

The United Natural Products Alliance (UNPA) announced a voluntary, industry-led US-China initiative to improve verification of botanical ingredients sourced from China, according to a November 12 UNPA news release.¹ The group said the effort, originally announced October 29 at SupplySide Global, aims to address ingredient adulteration, inconsistent quality documentation, and trade barriers. The effort has been named the “US–China Dietary Supplement and Food Ingredient Supply Chain and Trade Cooperation Initiative.”

Who Is Involved in the Initiative?

UNPA is working with the China Chamber of Commerce for Import & Export of Medicines & Health Products (CCCMHPIE) and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, Shaanxi Province (CCPIT Shaanxi).

Sure Origin, the joint venture formed by UNPA, TSI Group, and Sinobright, is behind an initial, nonexclusive pilot that will test a shared quality and trade protocol using actual ingredient materials and documentation. TSI brings manufacturing expertise, while Shenzhen-based Sinobright handles coordination with suppliers in China. UNPA said the effort draws on close to a decade of collaboration with CCCMHPIE

What Problems Does It Aim to Address?

UNPA said the details about an ingredient, such as who made it, who handled it, how much moved, and where it ended up, are dispersed, making shared, verifiable trade data hard to establish. The initiative will start closing that gap with direct supplier ties, linked records, and agreed ways of reviewing evidence. It also targets the disconnect between ingredient pricing and documented quality.

Daniel Mabey, UNPA’s Asia president and director of strategic markets, said suppliers in China have flagged intense price competition in the US botanical ingredient market. As one example, he noted reports of US spot prices for ginkgo biloba extract falling below Chinese prices, even before shipping and import costs. UNPA said those gaps prompt questions about ingredient identity, composition, specifications, and how quality is verified.

Loren Israelsen, UNPA’s founder and president, said, “Reliable ingredient sourcing is fundamental to U.S. supplement manufacturing and the products we export.” Meng Dongping of CCCMHPIE said, “Chinese manufacturers that invest in quality need a clear way to demonstrate that work to U.S. buyers.”

How Will the Initiative Proceed?

The first phase will examine assessments from 17 participating Chinese companies, informed by CCCMHPIE’s Good Manufacturing Practice for Plant Extracts (GEP) standard, to pick out candidates for further qualification. A second phase will focus on market access in China for US-made finished supplements, in line with UNPA’s longer-term aim of building more efficient reciprocal trade. UNPA gave no dates for the phases or pilot.

Initial priorities include aligning testing methods with recognized international laboratories in China, encouraging independent verification and certification, and publishing authorized case studies. The partners will also explore US foreign-trade zone bonded supply chain models, with potential duty deferral and duty exemption on qualifying re-exports.

The 3 groups are seeking manufacturers, ingredient suppliers, testing laboratories, and verification organizations to form a consortium that would develop and test the framework. Findings from individual cases would be released with permission, while confidential company records would remain under agreed access and use rules.

What Else Has UNPA Worked On?

In a separate October 26 release, UNPA said it joined the American Herbal Products Association, the Consumer Healthcare Products Association, and the Council for Responsible Nutrition in joint comments urging the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to reconsider placing the Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) under the Office of Nutrition Research.² The groups asked NIH to keep ODS a stand-alone office while strengthening collaboration. They said an added bureaucratic layer could hinder ODS’s advisory role and its direct access to NIH leadership, and that the change could narrow attention to research on botanicals, probiotics, and other bioactive substances.

The groups also cited unanswered questions about ODS’s leadership authority, staffing, funding, and research priorities. Loren Israelsen, UNPA’s founder and executive director, said, “We believe the best path forward is to strengthen ODS, not diminish its role.”

References

1. United Natural Products Alliance. US-China initiative targets ingredient quality, supply chain transparency and trade barriers. News release. November 12, 2026. Accessed November 12, 2026. https://www.unpa.com/news/us-china-initiative-targets-ingredient-quality-supply-chain-transparency-and-trade-barriers
2. United Natural Products Alliance. UNPA, AHPA, CRN, and CHPA urge NIH to preserve independence of Office of Dietary Supplements. News release. October 26, 2026. Accessed November 12, 2026. https://www.unpa.com/news/unpa-ahpa-crn-and-chpa-urge-nih-to-preserve-independence-of-office-of-dietary-supplements