Food Forum: Developing Safety Standards

Retailers and suppliers partner to standardize and streamline store brand safety and quality requirements. By Alan Perlman Retailers all strive for the same goals in quality, safety and regulatory compliance, and their store brand name is synonymous with their reputation. Although different retailers have different criteria, checklists and requirements for the manufacture of their own brand products, there are also many commonalities across channels—mass merchandisers, club, drug and grocery stores. Recognizing that harmonization is critical for manufacturers that serve all these retailers, NSF International and leaders from major retailers and store brand manufacturers formed the Global Retailer and Manufacturer Alliance (GRMA) in July 2014 to create consensus-based standards for four product sectors: dietary supplements, over-the-counter drugs, cosmetics/personal care items and medical devices sold in retail outlets. Developing and certifying to GRMA standards will allow industries to demonstrate compliance with a comprehensive list of certification requirements. This ensures that consumers get what they want, minimizes risk of retailers’ own products and provides data to substantiate label claims. Retailers meet regulatory compliance but are under constant pressure to reduce risk and protect their brands. Store brand manufacturers want to meet the expectations of all major retailers, but undertaking multiple custom regulatory/Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) audits is time-consuming and costly. Rigorous consensus standards, developed by industry, that cover the requirements of all major retailers will mitigate risk for retailers and store brand manufacturers. Combining retailer and regulatory requirements into a single standard and auditing program also reduces audits and costs while strengthening safety, quality and trust throughout the supply chain. The GRMA team, led by quality and safety experts from leading retailers and manufacturers, has developed a blueprint to create standardized requirements for each product category. The team also utilized insights from industry experts such as the Council for Responsible Nutrition, American National Standards Institute, Nutrition Business Journal and NSF International. Standardization encompasses both shared and unique retailer requirements. Manufacturers also benefit because they can meet all major retailer criteria with one certification. The GRMA Standards The standards will initially define a consistent approach for auditing, and later for product testing and claim substantiation, incorporating uniform retailer requirements and relevant regulations: •Dietary supplements: GMPs in manufacturing, packaging, labeling and holding operations for dietary supplements (21 CFR Part 111) which are a component of the only American National Standard for dietary supplements, NSF/ANSI 173 that is currently a requirement. •Cosmetics/personal care products: ISO 22716 and U.S. FDA Cosmetic GMP Guidance for the production, control, storage and shipment of cosmetic products. •OTC drug products: GMPs in manufacturing, processing, packing or holding of drugs for finished pharmaceuticals (21 CFR Parts 210 and 211). May include parts of the only standard for GMPs in pharmaceutical excipients, NSF/IPEC/ANSI 363. •Medical devices: Quality systems/GMPs for medical devices (21 CFR Part 820). Certification criteria vary based on the product: •Audits—Are required for initial certification and periodically thereafter. Audits verify GMPs, including production and process controls, personnel qualifications, cleaning procedures, equipment maintenance and more. •Product testing—May include ingredient, contaminant and finished product testing, including physical (properties, performance and integrity), microbiological and analytical testing. •Label claim verification—May consist of toxicology, formulation and/or label reviews of ingredients and marketing claims such as organic, gluten-free, non-GMO, EPA Safer Choice, landfill-free, fragrance-free, compostable, non-toxic and sustainability. Alan Perlman is Business Development Director-Consumer Products and Retailer Services for NSF International. He can be reached at [email protected].