VITAMINTESTING.COM: Test Your Vitamin Levels

         

If you take vitamin supplements, wouldn’t you want to know that you’re getting what’s promised on the label?

Another type of vitamin testing is the testing of the actual vitamion supplement to ensure its contents match its label.  Due to a lack of government regulation of the manufacture of vitamin supplements, a number of vitamin supplements have been found to contain either fewer or more ingredients than are listed on the labels.  This can contribute to vitamin deficiencies or excesses in one’s body.

To ensure you’re getting what’s on the label, you can check out the quality of the vitamin supplements you take, or plan to take, via the links to the independent organizations listed below.

    

Four Organizations Test and Certify Supplements

Four organizations test and inspect vitamin supplement products and/or manufacturing plants.  Below are these organizations’ seals of approval along with links to their websites (just click on the seal below).  

                                            

       

Check Out the Supplements You Take Using These Websites

List of USP Verified Dietary Supplements by Brand

List of Vitamin Supplement Manufacturers Certified by GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices)

List of NSF-Certified Brands.  This search-0riented site works best if you enter the type of vitamin supplement you take (e.g. multivitamin, Vitamin C) and then see the manufacturers that have been certified.

Subscription Site: ConsumerLab.  This site, for a fee, will let you know their test results for a number of vitamin supplement manufacturers.

                     

What these Certifications Mean

         

U. S. Pharmacopoeia (USP) Certification

USP’s Dietary Supplement Validation Program (DSVP) tests final vitamin supplement products in addition to inspecting the manufacturing plants. USP conducts an initial testing of products submitted to them by the company, performs inspections of manufacturing facilities, practices, records, and quality control measures to ensure that they meet USP requirements.  They then conduct random marketplace tests on products carrying the USP mark to ensure that they continue to meet USP’s standards over time.  Criteria are established by a committee of stakeholders from industry, government and consumer groups.  Vitamin supplement testing criteria include potency, identity, purity, bioavailability and good manufacturing practices.

      
Natural Products Association GMP Certification

This company inspects manufacturing plants of member companies to determine if they are complying with good manufacturing practices (GMPs) developed by NNFA in collaboration with several other industry trade organizations.  These GMPs include standards for quality control/assurance, cleanliness, checking identity and potency of ingredients, and testing of final products for potency, purity and bioavailability.  The GMP standards are the same as those for NSF International.

              

NSF International Certification

NSF International’s International Standard for Dietary Supplements uses the same set of criteria for good manufacturing practices as does the Natural Products Association.  However, unlike the Natural Product’s GMP Certification Program, the NSF Certification Program is available to any company, not just members.

              

ConsumerLab.com Certification

ConsumerLab looks at the research literature to understand the chemical makeup of products that have been shown useful in clinical research studies and then establishes standards of quality for that product.  It then selects popular brands for testing against these standards, which include identity and potency, purity, bioavailability and consistency.  ConsumerLab also has programs that test raw materials and screen supplements for substances banned by athletic organizations such as the U.S. Olympics.  To access the full list of products tested and the results, you’ll need to pay for a subscription.

         

Explanation of Criteria Tested

• Potency (and Identity): Does the vitamin supplement contain the ingredients and dosage strength listed on the label?
• Purity: Is the product free of specific contaminants it should not have?
• Bioavailability: Does the vitamin supplement dissolve adequately for use in the body?
• Consistency: Does each tablet or other unit of the product have the same identity, potency and purity?
• Good manufacturing practices (GMPs): Does the manufacturing facility follow high-quality standards?