George Pontiakos told NutraIngredients-USA: “The marquee names in this industry have been complying since even before GMPs were a regulated process.
“The challenge is that you have very small barriers to entry in a lot of channels in this marketplace, and there are a lot of grifters, cobblers, and vermin out there that will position themselves, be very price-driven, not worry about efficacy, safety and quality, and be able to get a little bit of traction and be able to do business.
“Adulteration is a global issue,” said Pontiakos. “You have to go out with a ‘trust but verify’ attitude.”
Election results
Commenting on the recent election results, Pontiakos said that his has concerns over whether there would a bipartisan fix of the economy.
“Our concern is in the dollar policy and the stability and the confidence that the world will have in the US economy.”
BI Nutraceuticals, which celebrates its 35th anniversary this year, does business in 35 countries and is “geographically competitive and globally dispersed”, said Pontiakos. “We’re very concerned about monetary policy and the evisceration of the dollar.”
“The MLM side of the business is doing well, but I think the mass market part has taken a hit.”
The move online is only a subset of this situation, said Pontiakos. “I think the overall problem is that the US consumer is very strained right now economically and they have to make decisions based on breathing, bleeding and poisoning.”
On the election results and FDA: “I think a lot of the future plans FDA had budgeted, I think there is a clear intent to launch these processes and programs. I think from a stability perspective, it’s going to improve now that we have a decision in the country.”