NASC launches raw material supplier quality assurance program

National Animal Supplement Council initiated a third-party quality assurance program specifically for raw material suppliers and contract manufacturers.

As an extension of the organization’s current NASC Quality Seal Program for finished products in the animal health supplement industry, raw material suppliers and contract manufacturers can now apply for a NASC Quality Supply Chain Partner Seal.
“In our industry, companies have historically relied on a supplier’s certificate of analysis as the sole means of verifying the identity of a material and as a basis for formulating products,” said Bill Bookout, president of NASC. “However, due to recent issues involving potential contaminants in ingredients we felt it necessary to launch a program for supply chain partners to help further ensure NASC members deliver quality products to their customers.”
Similar to the NASC Quality Seal, the new seal for supply chain members will recognize that a supplier has successfully completed a verification process, and that the information provided on the ingredient’s certificate of analysis is accurate and credible. To qualify, a raw material supplier must submit the ingredient to three independent U.S. testing laboratories specified and approved by NASC. All raw materials will then be tested following established recommendations of the United States Pharmacopeia, Association of Official Analytical Chemists and other recognized testing authorities.

NASC warns about quality assurance claims on animal health supplements

National Animal Supplement Council (NASC) issued a warning to consumers about purchasing animal health supplements with misleading quality assurance claims.
This warning was issued in response to growing popularity in the animal supplement market and confusion over health supplement labels. Because no government regulation is currently in place for the use of quality seals on animal supplement labels, NASC recommends consumers verify information about a product's quality seal before making a purchase.
Quality seals should be awarded by unbiased, third-party organizations, not companies, retailers or manufacturers. The seals should require companies to adhere to proper labeling guidelines and require product registration in NASC National Adverse Event Reporting System. Quality seals should also require the company have a quality control manual with written standard operating procedures for production process controls. The seals should not be available for purchase, but must require suppliers to pay for an independent audit and random testing on ingredient potency, identification and quality.

Pet supplements found to be less than promised

The National Animal Supplement Council (NASC) found that 24 of the 87 brands it tested recently did not contain what was claimed, said council president, William Bookout, in an article from The Associated Press.
The NASC did not specify which brands, but instead used the results to help improve quality control.
"Sometimes a company doesn't even realize they have a problem, or a company can make an honest mistake," Bookout said.