From The August 2000 Issue of Nutrition Science News

Back Talk

Are Private Companies That Test Raw Materials And Supplements Good For The Industry?

by Anna Soref

Private companies that test products for purity, bioavailability and consistency and then publish a list of the passing brand names are becoming more prevalent in the natural products industry. Some of these groups even offer accredited manufacturers a seal of approval to be used on product labeling. Are these testing houses just out to make a buck, or do they offer product validity for a developing industry?

"It's really a marketing tool. By paying to have your products tested, you are getting marketing exposure. When people see your name it's a good thing, but it costs a lot of money to participate. We stand behind the quality of our products, and I don't think we need a seal in order to say that we provide good ingredients. The companies that participate are huge, and they have the extra marketing budget to throw around and do this. I definitely think that it's going to have an impact on the industry—we have already received calls from several consumers."

Marcy Clow
Director of Research and Quality
Rainbow Light
Santa Cruz, Calif.

"I have problems with any seal of approval program. They could test a product for vitamin E potency, ours and somebody else's, and both would possibly test at 100 percent. However, both may not be 100 percent natural. Ours is, but maybe the other product is a blend of natural and synthetic, or maybe all synthetic. If I get a seal on my product and that company does too, then it equates the two when they really aren't equal.

Then you have questions about whether one company uses GMO material and another doesn't or if companies use organically grown material or not. You have questions on grades of material. For instance, you can buy very low grades of vitamin C and you can buy pharmaceutical grades, and you can test for potency and they'll both come out the same. I think it's a good marketing tool, but I don't think it tells the full story of product content and efficacy. I think seals of approval have a tendency to mislead the consumer when the consumer starts looking for a seal alone, and that's not the complete answer."

John R. Carlson,
President
JR Carlson Laboratories Inc.
Arlington Heights, Ill.

"The highest-quality product that you can put out is the most important thing, and if these testing companies can guarantee that the consumer is going to get safe, quality products, then that is best for everybody. Plus, manufacturers who aren't making quality products need to be exposed.

I see these test results as being more of an assurance for the mass market than for the health food stores. I think that health food customers are a little more educated, so they are going to go out and do a little research on their own, as opposed to the person who is buying vitamins for the first time in a drugstore. I don't think these test results will impact sales in the health food industry, but they may in the mass market."

Jay Levy
National Sales Manager
Wakunaga of America
Mission Viejo, Calif.

"Testing really begs the question ofwhat are the guidelines to get that seal? I would need to know how they're testing, what they're testing and what they're using as criteria. Without knowing that, any information they publish could be good, bad or ugly depending on what standards or guidelines they are following. If anything, it just creates a milieu of confusion more than a sea of understanding.

I don't know whether or not testing is going to add value to the industry yet. But I understand what its purpose is, and I hope it does."

Karen Lewis
National Vice President of Natural Living
Wild Oats
Boulder, Colo.

"It will definitely impact not only our industry, but also how the consumer perceives a product. I can absolutely imagine testing companies affecting sales if they can manage to take hold and capture the public's imagination. If you look at what happens when other industries try to self-regulate, you'll see it's a good thing. Perhaps it means that as an industry we are going to take control as opposed to relying on the government. One hopes and assumes that you are going to have more insight and be more sensitive to the industry and its products than a government agency might be. I think it will depend a lot on the integrity of these individual testing companies."

Janet Zand
Product Formulator
Botanical Laboratories
Ferndale, Wash.