MANNO, Switzerland—The Council for Responsible Nutrition-International (CRN-I) held its fifth annual symposium in October to present international industry experts’ perspectives on topics related to manufacturing processes.

The symposium, “A Quality Dietary Supplement: Before You Start and After It’s Marketed," took place in Brisbane, Australia. International industry experts discussed topics ranging from ingredient acquisition to post-market surveillance, as many nations are now developing and sharing standards to ensure safe and high-quality supplements for consumers.

“The U.S. commitment to good manufacturing practices (GMPs), as well as standardized policies on traceability, validation and post-market adverse event reporting requirements, have influenced policy development worldwide," said CRN vice president, scientific & international affairs, Jim Griffiths, Ph.D. “And for good reason: the framework in place in the U.S. provides Americans with safe and beneficial products. As other nations look to raise the bar for consistent quality assurance, the U.S. framework offers a convincing model."

The Australian model is also worth watching, as symposium attendees observed in a keynote address from Larry Kelly, Ph.D., of Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration, who discussed his organization’s role in ensuring quality complementary medicine products. Other CRN-I symposium session topics included: GMPs for dietary supplements; validation and verification for products, processes and methodology; supplier compliance management; stability and shelf-life requirements for supplements; and more. The presentations are available on the CRN-I website.

Nearly 50 stakeholders, including international regulators, industry scientists and academics, attended the 2014 CRN-I event. CRN-I will submit a summary of the symposium proceedings to an international journal for publication, adding to the catalog of CRN-I symposium proceedings published every year since 2010.

“As nations across the globe are developing—or revamping—their regulatory programs, savvy stakeholders are mindful of the need for harmonization," Griffiths said. “In bringing key representatives together for events like this symposium, CRN-I is playing an important role in fostering the development of high standards while preserving free trade and advocating for science-based policymaking."