Posts Tagged ‘dietary supplements’

Third Party Testing – Offense or Defense?

Tuesday, June 29th, 2010 by FrontierGS

It doesn’t seem like a day goes by without a story in the news about heavy metals in a consumer product. Whether legitimate or not, this can be catastrophic for the targeted company.

That is unless the company has taken some straight forward tests to protect itself. After almost 20 years as a preeminent heavy metals laboratory we’ve learned a few things that may be helpful.

First, testing for heavy metals can be tricky. Armed with the right technology to test heavy metals but lacking the wisdom to understand the variables can produce inaccurate results – in many cases results that are not in your favor. This can create both “false positives” and false negatives”. Neither of which are desirable.

Third party testing is perhaps the most cost effective insurance a company can buy. A perfect demonstration of this comes in the form of recent feedback from a client of ours. They were approached by the media who had “unconfirmed reports” of excessive heavy metals in their product.

While this scenario may have been “rattling” for some, our client shared with us they simply showed the writer the documentation from our Gold Certification program, shared that Frontier was a leading heavy metals laboratory and ISO 17025 accredited. Bottom-line, we understand that was the end of the story.

I share this with you, because I think it is important. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. In this case, being able to confidently communicate that they had proactively brought in a third party to monitor their products was worth significantly more than the $100 BIG 4 test. Avoiding the potential damage to a company’s brand could easily be worth 100 or even 1,000 times the price of that test.

If you currently have a solid heavy metals testing program in place – good for you! If you don’t it’s a great time to get started. Give us a call today and we’ll share ways we see existing clients creating the most cost effective testing programs.

To learn more about heavy metals testing, contact us or request a quote now.

About Frontier – Frontier Global Sciences is an internationally recognized analytical laboratory, specializing in the analysis of trace metals or heavy metals in industrial, environmental and consumer applications.  For over 18 years the company has provided innovative solutions and “gold standard” analytical services to corporations and government entities throughout the world.

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Heavy Metals in Dietary Supplements a Competitive Advantage?

Monday, April 19th, 2010 by FrontierGS

Mercury and other heavy metals in dietary supplements and herbal products are a growing concern for consumers, clinicians and Nutra manufacturers alike. While the problem is real there are some proactive and positive ways to embrace this issue.

In upcoming newsletters and blogs we’ll talk about things like limits for daily consumption, high-risk products and acceptable testing methods. However, today we are simply going to take a “macro” look at this issue.

A few months ago, the United States Geological Survey published the results of a study in which it tested fish from 291 streams across the country. The results – there was mercury in 100% of the fish tested. Moreover, one-fourth of the fish tested had mercury levels higher than what’s considered healthy for people who eat fish regularly.

So, where does mercury and other heavy metals come from? Let’s start with mercury. Essentially, mercury comes in three flavors – elemental, inorganic and organic.

Elemental Mercury – comes from industrial exposure. This would include old thermometers, electrical switches, and fluorescent bulbs.

Inorganic Mercury – is the ionic form that is combined with an anion like chlorine, sulfur or oxygen to make a powder or crystal. In the past it was used as an antiseptic, in many creams and as a preservative.

Organic Mercury – is bound to an organic compound such as methyl or ethyl. Organic mercury naturally “lives” in our environment.

What does all this have to do with dietary supplements? Actually, quite a bit

As the trend in healthy living and natural care continues to explode, consumers are becoming much more aware of what they are putting in their bodies. Increasingly, they are demanding to know what is in the products they are ingesting. Not just whether the product passes a limit test, but what heavy metals are present.

They say the best defense is a good offense. Well, “they” are spot on when it comes to heavy metals in dietary supplements. Some heavy metals are bio-accumulative. This simply means there is no way for your body to “purge” them. The levels in your system may increase, however they’ll never decrease.

As a result, extremely low levels over a long period of time can have a significant impact on the human body. Most dietary supplements and herbal products are based on raw materials that are grown or harvested. In many cases, theses raw products are natures “filter”. The mercury in our atmosphere (rain and air) can be deposited on these raw products.

Instead of viewing heavy metals in your dietary supplements as a challenge, view extremely clean products as a competitive advantage.

You may be thinking “yeah, but it is cost prohibitive to test for heavy metals at such low levels”. Historically, you may have been right. However, in recent years both technology and know-how have made extremely low level heavy metal testing extremely accurate and affordable.

Again, stay posted as we drill-down into methods, best practices, mistakes to avoid, and how you can use this information to deliver a superior product with a competitive advantage.

To learn more about heavy metals testing, contact us or request a quote now.

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Supplements – Using Quality to Build your Brand

Monday, April 19th, 2010 by FrontierGS

Quality in your BrandPrice takes a back seat to safety…

As the media continues to highlight cautionary findings related to dietary supplements, consumers are focusing on quality and safety like never before.

This trend was confirmed in a recent survey completed by Chicago based Colman Brohan Davis, Inc.

Results of the survey showed that consumers ranked Safety as the Number One criteria in purchasing dietary supplements. Moreover, the majority of those surveyed acknowledged having some concerns about taking dietary supplements.

Equally as telling was the fact that those surveyed ranked Price as the Last Consideration when purchasing dietary supplements.

There are a few nuggets we can extract from these consumer trends. First, safety and quality really are a competitive advantage. Next, consumers appear to be willing to pay for it. If safety is the #1 consideration, this is an opportunity to differentiate your brand AND increase your margins at the same time.

Consumers no longer view vitamins and supplements as “automatically good”. The trend is to question everything. Again, the good news is they are willing to vote for quality products with their dollars!

This, combined with the current economic climate that is forcing more consumers to take control of their own health has created a great opportunity for the nutraceutical industry.

How can you take advantage of this? There are a number of ways, however we’ll distill it down to three action items…

  1. Start with Quality – Clearly, a quality product begins with quality ingredients. Testing for heavy metals is something many manufacturers do as a result of California’s Prop 65 – however, making it the backbone of your brand can produce very positive results. After all, consumers are making it the #1 driver in their decision to purchase a particular product.
  2. Validate your Quality – Using a third party to validate the quality of your products is one of the most cost effective ways to build consumer confidence (check out our Gold Certification Program).
  3. Differentiate with Quality – Communicate your commitment to quality. Again, letting consumers know that you deliver safe, clean and quality products addresses their #1 concern.

If item #2 sounds like a shameless plug, perhaps it is. However, having a good testing program in place is no longer a good idea, its table stakes to a thriving brand. We understand this and are work very hard to track the trends and industry regulations and to put our clients in a leading position.

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