Wegmans Food Markets, in collaboration with NSF, is launching its “Verified with Confidence” program for all dietary supplements, herbals, probiotics, and CBD-containing products sold at its 106 stores in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland, Massachusetts, and North Carolina.

Ultimately, the program is designed to help consumers identify high-quality products. “We have been concerned about inconsistent requirements in testing standards in the supplement industry,” said Karen Shadders, Wegmans vice president of health and well-being. “Our Verified with Confidence program allows us to ensure the products on our shelves contain the ingredients stated on the bottle.”

“We worked with NSF to launch this program knowing this is the right thing to do for our customers,” said Betsy Crater, non-food quality assurance manager at Wegmans Food Markets. “We are excited to be a leader in this initiative and help inspire others in the industry to get on board as well.”

NSF is administering the overall program and providing auditing services, product testing, label review accuracy, and claims substantiation. Wegmans’ Verified with Confidence program will incorporate the most current ANSI-accredited Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) audit standards – NSF/ANSI 455-2 for Dietary Supplements and NSF/ANSI 455-3 for Cosmetics/Personal Care Products. These new GMP audit standards are built on the current regulations detailed in 21 CFR 111 and 117 and came as a result of consensus among retailers, suppliers, and other stakeholders. NSF began certifying dietary supplement manufacturers and personal care product manufacturers to the new NSF/ANSI 455 GMP standards in January 2021.

“Wegmans is demonstrating true leadership with its Verified with Confidence program,” said David Trosin, managing director of health sciences certification at NSF. “Consumers want to know what’s in the products they buy and more and more they are expecting retailers to play an active role in quality assurance and product safety. We envision a future when most major retailers will require brands to show proof of product quality in some form or another, whether through independent assurance of GMP compliance, independent laboratory testing of products, or both.”