Essential Features of Third-Party Certification Programs for Dietary Supplements: A Consensus Statement

Abstract

The presence of performance-enhancing drugs in dietary supplements poses serious anti-doping and health risks to athletes and military service members. A positive drug test, suboptimal health, or adverse event can ruin a career in either setting. These populations need to be certain in advance that a product is of high quality and free from performance-enhancing drugs and other banned substances. However, no regulatory authority conducts or mandates a quality review before dietary supplements are sold. Under the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act, the Food and Drug Administration does not have a role in the premarket safety review of dietary supplements. Due to the increasing demand for high-quality, properly labeled dietary supplements, multiple companies have stepped into this void by offering testing and quality review programs for dietary supplements. Each of these third-party programs has its own quality assurance program with varying testing components. It is difficult for consumers in the sport and military settings to assess whether a particular certification program reduces the risks enough so that they can use a product with confidence. This article puts forward the consensus of the authors on current best practices for third-party certification programs for dietary supplements consumed by athletes and military service members. Also discussed are important ways that third-party programs can develop in the future to improve access to safe, high-quality dietary supplements for these populations.

Label Accuracy of Weight Loss Dietary Supplements Marketed Online With Military Discounts

“…In addition, no product was third-party certified to show that the product had been tested and verified for its quality to mitigate risk. 39 …”

Dietary Supplements: A Gateway to Doping?

“…To obtain third-party certification, the dietary supplement must be examined by a neutral body with an understanding of quality assurance to ensure it fulfils a set of standards. Therefore, for a company to be recognised as third party, it must not be affiliated with the supplement company seeking certification and must also have no government regulatory authority [ 57 ]. This approach is thought to provide a key level of transparency to consumers and greatly reduce the likelihood of contamination.…”

Analytical Challenges and Metrological Approaches to Ensuring Dietary Supplement Quality: International Perspectives

“…In response to these chemical measurement challenges, the US National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements (NIH-ODS) Analytical Methods and Reference Materials Program and the NIST partnered to establish laboratory quality assurance programs (QAPs) with a purpose to promote and support enhanced capabilities for the analytical characterization of DS ( Phillips et al, 2011 ; Sander et al, 2013 ). These voluntary QAPs, as well as NIST certified reference materials for common dietary ingredients ( Rimmer et al, 2013 ; Eichner et al, 2019 ; Wise and Phillips, 2019 ) are designed to help laboratories establish and improve their analytical accuracy, precision, and repeatability of measurements for analytes found in DS. Participant laboratories measure target nutrients and/or phytochemicals, as well as potential contaminants (e.g., pesticides, toxic elements) in samples distributed by NIST, and subsequent data identify analytical challenges, and describe methodological advances.…”