17 Mar 2010 --- NSF International announced that it is the first U.S. certification organization approved by the Standards Council of Canada (SCC) to offer dietary and sports supplement screening for all nutritional products. The lab accreditation expands the scope of NSF International’s existing accreditation to help companies produce safer supplements.

News stories on steroid use in sports continue to emphasize the importance of screening dietary supplements and sports nutrition products for banned substances, including diuretics, steroids, stimulants, and masking agents. The increase in recalls and doping in these products have also raised quality and safety concerns. NSF International’s dietary and sports supplement testing and certification programs offer a solution to this doping issue.

NSF International developed the only American National Standard for dietary supplements (NSF/ANSI Standard 173) and tests to that standard via the NSF Dietary Supplement Certification program. The certification program helps ensure that what’s on the label matches what’s in the bottle and that there are no undeclared ingredients or unacceptable levels of contaminants.

NSF International's Athletic Banned Substances Certification Program (aka: NSF Certified for Sport) takes the dietary supplement certification program a step further by screening for banned substances.

NSF International’s Certified for Sport program is recognized by the National Football League (NFL), Major League Baseball (MLB), Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES), the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) and the PGA, among other major sports organizations. Certification requirements include:

* Label claim review to ensure what’s on the label is in the bottle.
* Toxicology review verifies product formulation and marketing claims
* Contaminant review to ensure there are no undeclared ingredients or unacceptable levels of contaminants in the product
* Facility inspection, two Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) audits annually
* Ongoing monitoring to verify continued compliance

“Making supplements safer for athletes and consumers is an essential part of our public health and safety mission. We developed the only American National Standard for dietary supplements and this accreditation expansion will also help make sure dietary supplement and other nutritional products are meeting safety and quality requirements,” said Edward Wyszumiala, General Manager of NSF International’s Dietary Supplement Certification Programs.

To become accredited by SCC, NSF underwent a field audit and a quality systems audit to evaluate NSF’s ability and expertise to perform specialized testing for banned substances. This process included a review of documentation, records, personnel qualifications, training programs, as well as extensive interviews with NSF staff.

SCC accreditation confirms that NSF International’s dietary supplement services are conducted in compliance with U.S. and international standards. NSF’s existing accreditations include the following areas: plumbing products, recreational water, drinking water, food equipment, wastewater, among others.

"This scope extension enables NSF to play an important role in assessing the safety of these types of supplements,” said SCC Executive Director, John Walter. “Their accreditation by SCC demonstrates to clients and consumers that they place a high value on third-party verification of their work, and that they have the competencies required to perform this type of testing.”