Nature's Sunshine Product Quality Assurance Protocols

NSP has grown to be a leading company in the herbs and health supplements industry.  Nature's Sunshine Products leaves nothing to chance.

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There are many reasons for Nature's Sunshine's successes over the years and in 2020, NSP underpinned their commitment ...

NSP Opens Advanced R&D Center

March 3, 2020 - Nature’s Sunshine celebrated the grand opening of the Hughes Center for Research and Innovation, a new state-of-the-art facility located at its corporate headquarters in Lehi, Utah.  Nature’s Sunshine R&D team will research how nutritional supplements interact with the body at the molecular level.

“The Hughes Center for Research and Innovation incorporates some of the most advanced technology in the industry,” said Dr. Matthew Tripp, Chief Scientific Officer. “For example, the Flexmap3D can analyze 500 analyses, such as genes and proteins, from a single human sample, such as a drop of blood.”

The center’s research will combat health mega-trends driven by diet and lifestyle choices through natural, nutritionally therapeutic products, said Chairman and CEO Gregory Probert. The new facility features labs and clinical space, as well as exam rooms for consultations and clinical studies.

Quality, NSP's Competitive Advantage

Easily said, but the number one reason people return to Nature's Sunshine time and again is due to the quality of its products.  Quality is the hallmark which separates Nature's Sunshine products from all others.

• For Nature's Sunshine, quality begins in the fields where only the finest herbs and raw materials are selected. Global sourcing of raw materials ensures that the highest quality of products are chosen from each harvest season.
• These raw herbs and vitamin materials are then subject to a series of rigorous quality assurance checks throughout the manufacturing process.
• Quality assurance includes testing for environmental pollutants, pesticides, insect infestation, fungus and even radiation. Products are tested to satisfy the rules and regulations of the government and the high standards established internally.
• The primary difference between Canadian and U.S. law is the classification of herbs and vitamins. Many nutritional products are categorized as "food" in the U.S., but deemed "drug" products in Canada. A notable difference is also the type of testing required.
• Unlike the USA, the Health Protection Branch (HPB) of the Canadian federal government requires shelf life and stability testing, where mandatory. Nature's Sunshine Products of Canada Ltd., works closely with a Canadian quality assurance control consultants to ensure that the quality of its products are unsurpassed.

Quality Assurance From The Beginning

All aspects of creating an encapsulated nutritional supplement is monitored. Records are kept on each lot of raw materials so that each product can be traced back to its original source.

Once a product has been produced, it goes back into the lab for further testing. The finished product is examined to ensure that it has not been contaminated by the production procedure, and that the capsule weights are accurate. A sample is retained for reference and shelf life testing. If there is ever a question about of its quality, this original sample can be referred to.

At Nature's Sunshine, quality is not just a word - it's a commitment to produce the finest quality products available. Here are some more of the extensive testing procedures carried out on every Nature's Sunshine product.

NSP Manufactures Quality into each Herb and Health Supplement

Merely swallowing a vitamin tablet does not ensure that it will be digested and assimilated by the body. Only with strict attention to detail and extensive product testing does Nature's Sunshine ensure the quality and consistency of its vitamin and mineral health supplements.

Vitamin tablets are tested for disintegration and dissolution in a test takes approximately 30 minutes under controlled conditions. The temperature and motion of the machine duplicates the passage of a tablet through the human digestive tract.

By adjusting the composition of the tablet and the pressure at which it is made, Nature's Sunshine can assure customers that tablets are manufactured hard enough to withstand normal handling, yet soft enough to dissolve in the digestive process.

Getting Physical with NSP Herbs and Health Supplements

Physical tests are another way Nature's Sunshine ensures a quality health supplement.

• First, every new sample is compared with previous samples of the same supplement. Physical characteristics such as color, taste and odour are noted. These factors may vary slightly depending on the place and time of harvest or growing conditions of a particular herb, etc.
• Herbs are examined at the cellular level to make proper identification of the herb and the correct plant part being used.
• Another test involves analyzing the ash content of a sample of raw material. A herb sample is burned, then the ash residue is tested for foreign materials. Because dirt, sand or other foreign inorganic material does not bum, it can be seen under the microscope.
• Still another way to test for foreign material is to use the flotation test. A sample of a herb is heated or treated to remove the oil. Because they are oil-like, insect parts, bird feather fragments and animal hairs will float into the oily layer.
• In order to ensure uniformity of capsule weight, screen analysis is performed to ascertain the particle size of raw materials.  Small particles will pack together significantly tighter than larger particles.

Such strict attention to quality is why Nature's Sunshine has the well deserved reputation as the leading company in quality herbal and nutritional supplements.

NSP Over Delivers On Product Potency

By law, the potency of all vitamin products at the time of manufacture can be no less than the claim made on the label, but what about after manufacturing?

• Over time vitamins lose some of their potency. The longer they sit, the less potent they become.
• By the time they are warehoused, shipped and put on a shelf, they become less potent than when originally manufactured. That means you could be gelling less than what you paid for.
• To compensate for this loss, and to ensure that every customer gets what he or she pays for, Natures Sunshine adds as much as 10 percent extra to its vitamin products, enough to maintain label potency for as long as two years after manufacture'
• Even after the stated expiry date on the label you still receive full quality and value with every supplement.

If NSP Raw Materials Contain Synthetic Materials Or  Pesticides, They Are Rejected

After going through various physical tests, raw materials are then submitted for chemical testing to determine, among other things, to test whether a sample is natural or synthetic, and whether it contains pesticide residue.

Raw materials that do not meet Nature's Sunshine's high quality assurance standards are refused and sent back to the supplier.

Protection From Environmental Pollution And Contamination

• As the environment becomes more polluted with toxins the need to identify contaminated herbs becomes critical.
• Vitamin and mineral products and herb samples are tested for toxic materials such as lead and arsenic, and for beneficial minerals such as iron and calcium.
• Another health danger posed by today's polluted environment is that of radioactive contamination.  The Chernobyl incident is a good example.
• Because of the ominous danger of radiation contamination, Nature's Sunshine began routinely testing all its food products for radiation.

NSP Herbs and Health Supplements Pass the Test

Nature's Sunshine has established an extensive microbiological testing protocol for each product designed to detect and identify harmful bacterial contamination.

• Microbiological cleanliness is tested in four important areas:
• total aerobic plate count;
• mold and yeast count;
• coliform (E. coli screen) count. Escherichia coli (or E. coli), which causes illness when ingested, is found in plant products grown in unsanitary conditions.
• presence of Salmonella. Salmonella is the bacteria responsible for food poisoning and many other food-borne illnesses found in herbs, just as in any other food.

Nature's Sunshine is leaving nothing to chance in its mandate to produce and bring to market world class, high quality, value driven nutritional supplements that will exceed expectations.

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