Natural Products Insider: Then and Now – USP seal

This series looks back at the stories we were covering in Natural Products Insider 25, 20, 15, 10 and 5 years ago this month. In addition to providing some interesting history, I explore why these stories are still relevant today.

Then (November 2002): Twenty years ago this month, the U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP) unveiled its program seal for its new Dietary Supplement Verification Program (DSVP). The program enabled manufacturers to submit products for USP verification of purity, accuracy of labeling and manufacturing practices. The intent was to convey to consumers, retailers and health care professionals that the product contains the ingredients declared on the label in the declared amounts, meets required limits on potential contaminants, and has been manufactured in compliance with USP good manufacturing practices (GMPs). USP expected products bearing the seal to appear on the market by January 2003.

Now: The USP Verified Mark appears today on more than 100 dietary supplement products, including products from Church & Dwight Co. Inc., Contract Pharmacal Corp. (CPC), DrVita Inc., International Vitamin Corp (IVC), Lang Pharma Nutrition, Lily of The Desert, MeriCal, Ritual, Natrol LLC, Natural Factors, Nutrawise Health & Beauty, Pharmavite LLC, Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC, The Bountiful Company, Trident Seafoods Corp., Uni-Caps LLC, Valensa International and Vit-Best Nutrition.

Related:Natural Products Insider: Then and now – Ephedra

The most prolific brand using the USP seal is Nature Made from Pharmavite, and the brand has been running ads promoting this for many years. The USP Verified Mark, along with many other industry quality verification programs, plays an important role in building trust among consumers. According to the Council for Responsible Nutrition’s “2022 CRN Consumer Survey on Dietary Supplements,” 77% of Americans find the dietary supplement industry trustworthy. Among supplement users, 84% find the industry trustworthy.