In 2021 the dietary supplement industry had a net worth of a whooping USD 151.9 billion, built by thousands of different brands, many of them labeled plant based, organic, Vegan, NSF Sport, kosher, and more. But with an industry so big, to what extent can you actually trust the brands? This is the value of third-party audits and certifications.
Dietary supplements are regulated by the FDA as food, despite the fact many supplements present with strong biological effects. This is also important for Vegan label claimed vitamins, because the FDA does not regulate the word Vegan, which means inconsistent use of the word is unreliable for the consumer. BeVeg Vegan certification has a global Vegan standard and is partnered with third-party technical administrators leading the supplements world, like NSF.
What does NSF Certification mean? NSF certification is the gold standard for supplement certification for safety, purity, and accurate dosing. Now, NSF has a Vegan certification offering that confirms Vegan label integrity status at the factory level and can be coupled with and bundled with other NSF supplement and sport certifications. So long as the supplements industry remains largely unregulated, it is critical for the super consumer interested in ingredients and processes, and for consumer health and safety to look for and demand these third-party audits on their consumable products.
BeVeg is an ISO accredited Vegan certification standard, and as such, sets high standards to protect the consumer. Plant based vitamins are as the name suggests, usually is derived from plants. Notably, when plants are growing, heavy metals like copper and zinc in the earth are absorbed, which in itself is a natural process. However, some can be dangerous when consumed in larger amounts. The problem with supplements is that there can sometimes be contamination of plants with high concentrations of these heavy metals, causing toxicity in the body – and there’s very little industry regulation. It is up to the manufacturer how they want to test for contaminants and active components, some being more thorough than others. In fact, only in California, are products required by law to even include warning labels about such potential contaminants.
This is the added value of NSF certification bundled with the official and globally recognized BeVeg Vegan trademark. Super consumers care about their health, environment, and ingredient and process certifications. As the supplement industry grows at an astronomical rate, the consumer can rest assured and rely on brands that do third-party testing, as approved by NSF and BEVEG for accurate label claims that go above and beyond existing regulations for a sector that is mostly unregulated.
To learn more about BeVeg and NSF supplement certification, check out www.beveg.com.
