A certificate of analysis (COA) should be the beginning of a supplement brand\u2019s quality verification process, not the end, according to Nour Abochama, Vice President of Operations at Qalitex Laboratories.<\/p>\n
\u201cA COA could mean a lot of different meanings,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s always the start of our process. It\u2019s not the end of our process.\u201d <\/p>\n
Abochama said brands should independently verify supplier COAs and consider factors like microbiology, heavy metals, pesticides and residual solvents, white also confirming that finished products contain what is claimed on the label.<\/p>\n
Sampling can also significantly impact results, particularly for liquids, powders and other products where active ingredients may not be evenly distributed. <\/p>\n
\u201cSampling is a big part of the analytical process,\u201d she said, adding that brands should consider taking multiple samples from different points in a production run to ensure results are representative.\u201d<\/p>\n
Finished product testing is especially important, Abochama said, because manufacturing processes can affect the final concentration of an ingredient. <\/p>\n
We need to make sure that what we put in the beginning is what we get at the end,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
That issue is becoming increasingly relevant as major marketplaces introduce greater scrutiny. Abochama pointed to Amazon\u2019s testing requirements as part of a broader shift toward independent verification.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat Amazon is doing is making us see in the regulatory and in our environment a clear shift toward more independent verification and greater accountability for finished products,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
For brands selecting suppliers and testing labs, Abochama recommends verifying accreditations, maintaining traceability and periodically comparing results and raw data. <\/p>\n
Ultimately, Abochama said quality systems need to be reassessed whenever a key supplier, manufacturing process or testing lab changes. <\/p>\n
To hear more on supplement testing, COAs and the growing role of marketplace verification, listen to the NutraCast above or on your preferred podcast platform. <\/p>\n
If you enjoy listening to the NutraCast, feel free to leave a review. You can subscribe on Apple<\/a>, iHeart<\/a>, Spotify<\/a> or wherever you get your podcasts. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A certificate of analysis (COA) should be the beginning of a supplement brand\u2019s quality verification process, not the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":618625,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[134,111,139,556,69],"class_list":["post-618624","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nutrition","tag-health","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nutrition","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/618624","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=618624"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/618624\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/618625"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=618624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=618624"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=618624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}