NAI becomes first company to step up to SSCI plate
In the first of what is slated to be many such audits, Natural Alternatives International has become the first company to officially complete the SSCI certification process.
The Supplement Safety & Compliance Initiative (SSCI) was created more than five years ago by some of the leader retailers, including Walmart and GNC, in collaboration with the Natural Products Association (NPA).
More audits planned
As the first company to complete the process, NAI is deeply connected to NPA. NAI founder and CEO Mark LeDoux is also chairman of NPA’s board. But while NPA president and CEO Dan Fabricant claimed that while many observers will find it unsurprising that NAI would be the first to step forward to champion the certification it helped to create, the idea is quickly gaining traction within the industry.
“The second audit was just completed and we have as many as 10 additional audits in the works,” Fabricant told NutraIngredients-USA.
“This was developed by the industry for the industry,” he said. “It is the first effort to set globally harmonized benchmarking standards for natural products.”
Incorporating multiple standards
Fabricant said the auditing process will accelerate as more auditors become trained in the process. An SSCI audit includes standards from many of the globe’s regulatory bodies, including FDA, Health Canada, the EU and Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration.
“SSCI brings some of the largest retailers, raw material manufacturers and suppliers, dietary supplement manufacturers and other stakeholders together to assist in strengthening safeguards and helping to ensure regulatory compliance from harvest to retailer shelf,” said Dadrion Gaston, Senior Director Corporate Compliance, Health & Wellness Product & Supply Chain Safety for Walmart, and a Board Member of SSCI.
“SSCI is a retailer-led initiative looking to establish the guidance and thought systems necessary to ensure quality, authenticity, safety, and cGMP compliance needed to reduce safety risk,” said Sudipta Veeramachaneni, Ph.D., Vice President of Global Research & Development & Innovation for GNC, and a Board Member of SSCI.
