09.01.07
The Natural Products Association (NPA), Washington, D.C., has launched a new program for testing Chinese raw materials for purity and composition. Under the new program, raw materials used in the most common dietary supplements will be tested in USP’s Shanghai, China, laboratory. This represents a significant departure from the current process where U.S. companies must rely on a test by Chinese laboratories or test samples themselves in the U.S. This would offer several benefits, including: reduced transit times and costs; greater traceability and documentation of ingredients used in the supply chain; use of state-of-the-art technology in testing; and a systematic approach to verification. NPA officials will provide test results to member companies and subscribers. It will also build a database on raw material suppliers, which will be made available to U.S. manufacturers to inform contracting and supply chain decisions.