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WASHINGTON — CRN congratulates the Global Retailer and Manufacturer Alliance (GRMA) for having its dietary supplement good manufacturing practice (GMP) certification program recognized by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) as meeting the latter’s benchmark requirements.
This recognition means that GRMA’s dietary supplements certification program meets the strict, rigorous standards governing the content and management of third-party food safety certification programs. This recognition paves the way for even broader adoption of the GRMA standards by retailers looking to underscore their commitment to providing quality dietary supplements. This third-party GMP audit standard will also help ensure dietary supplement manufacturing facilities meet the stringent legal and regulatory requirements required to produce quality, safe dietary supplements for the U.S. market.
GFSI’s benchmarking standards are recognized and highly respected worldwide, helping to foster mutual acceptance of GFSI-recognized programs and encouraging harmonization of a simplified “once certified, recognized everywhere” approach to food safety audit standards, including standards for dietary supplements.
The GFSI benchmarking process involves a comprehensive assessment to ensure that certification programs meet stringent criteria, thereby fostering trust and credibility among stakeholders. By achieving this recognition, GRMA not only demonstrates its commitment to maintaining high standards of GMP certification programs, but also enhances the reliability and consistency of dietary supplement audits. This elevation in standards is crucial for ensuring consumer safety and trust, regulatory compliance, and operational efficiency across the dietary supplement industry.
The GFSI certification process addresses several critical issues within the dietary supplement industry by establishing harmonized standards for third-party audits, helping to replace inconsistent and conflicting quality and safety requirements and audit standards from multiple stakeholders. This unified approach also reduces “audit fatigue”—where companies are strained by undergoing multiple, overlapping audits to satisfy different retailer requirements—by consolidating these audits into a single, comprehensive process, saving time and resources for manufacturers. The benchmarked certification program also aids in regulatory compliance, mitigating the risk of non-compliance and associated penalties. Additionally, it provides a competitive edge, facilitating market access and acceptance globally by demonstrating adherence to internationally recognized standards.
CRN is proud to have been a founding supporter and continuing member of GRMA. CRN President & CEO Steve Mister observed, “Years ago, we recognized the important role retailers play in ensuring the safety of dietary supplements, but also saw the potential issues with each retailer having their own standards for determining quality and safety of the supplements they sell. This could lead to unnecessary duplication and confusion. GRMA’s efforts to create one coordinated GMP audit standard help reduce costs, avoid inconsistencies, and ensure better protection for consumers.”
GFSI’s recognition furthers the credibility of the GRMA program. As more retailers and brand marketers adopt the GRMA standards, it will promote safety, quality, and trust throughout supply chains. It will also satisfy both regulatory and retailer quality requirements, recognize a level of fully qualified certification bodies to perform these audits, reduce the number of audits needed, thus freeing up resources for other priorities, and elevate the standards of audits and auditors so that retailers and manufacturers can trust the quality and integrity of the audit.
