Supplement Product Testing

Supplement Product Testing can mean many different things when discussing supplements, ingredients and custom manufacturing, so in this blog we’ll address the following:

  • Raw material testing
  • In process testing
  • Finished goods testing

Before we start, however, what does ingredient and product testing mean? It means many things and our testing protocols can and do span a wide range of different tests to ensure quality products and to ensure identity, purity, potency, and strength, the tenants of a good testing system.

Examples of ingredient testing include, but are not limited to the following:

  • Water Activity
  • Spectrometer reading
  • Microbial contamination
  • Heavy metals
  • Allergens (whey, milk, soy, peanut, tree nut, etc)
  • Color, taste, texture, bulk density
  • Strength (for example testing for accurate protein content)

As further background to commitment to sound regulatory, testing protocols and methodologies, at SDC Nutrition, we take all aspects of quality protein powder manufacturing, packaging and testing very seriously along with the quality of all of our other products like pre workout powders, post workout powders, and capsules. This starts from our experience years ago using protein co-packers who could not meet our quality standards which in turn led us to bring sports nutrition manufacturing in house in 2011. We have expanded our capabilities and improved upon our execution day after day ever since.

Read an article from our Co-Founder Devenee Schumacher about bringing quality back into the supplement industry:

http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/5f1fa329#/5f1fa329/40

That means we have over almost 5 years of rigorous experience in protein powder co-packing and flavoring. Combined with the prior nutraceutical and nutrition business experience of our team members, we have a combined 50+ years of knowledge in this space to bring to you from flavoring to manufacturing, fulfillment, and distribution, and most importantly quality standards and dietary supplement product testing. Let’s jump in.

Raw Materials Testing:

One key aspect to any team’s quality standards program is product testing for identity, purity, potency and strength is to qualify vendors before raw material ever even arrives in the building. Once this step is completed and when materials arrive in our warehouse, they are separated and placed “under quarantine” before they can be released to commerce by our trained and qualified quality team for use in production. Before being released, raw materials must meet a strict set of criteria including:

  • Receiving the supplier’s certificate of analysis (CoA)
    • As mentioned earlier, before even getting to this step we validate our suppliers with a questionnaire to ensure they meet our quality standards as a vendor
    • Once a vendor is approved, we require a CoA with every lot number of every raw material we receive
  • Performing multiple different tests in our own quality labs
    • Our quality team is trained in performing multiple in house testing processes in our lab
    • This provides a layered approach to product testing to screen out any raw materials we do not deem fit for use
  • Validation and / or verification by an outside laboratory
    • SDC Nutrition has verified our own preferred and qualified labs so you don’t have to
    • Utilizing an independent outside lab ensures product testing ability and expertise for an expanded set of testing protocols and brings an independent 3rd party to the equation, a very important step

If the raw materials do not meet our criteria, they will not be accepted and will not make their way into our processes.

supplement product testing

In Process Testing:

During the production process our products and production line equipment undergo in process testing and validation at multiple stages of production including:

  • Pre and Post blending where all ingredients are double verified and tested to ensure consistency from batch to batch even from batches that we manufactured months prior.
  • Check weighing during powder filling where units are measured to ensure and reflect correct product weights.
  • Capping to ensure good tamper resistant seals are in place to protect your products
  • Labeling: Only qualified personnel have the appropriate clearance to obtain and release labels for packaging.
  • Paperwork: SDC has achieved certified status by NSF, an independent 3rd party auditing agency for current good manufacturing practices (cGMP). This means our paperwork and batches are complete, accurate, and require multiple verification processes along the way. These verification processes and sign off requirements are further validation that the above steps have been followed in a complete and thorough manner.

See more of our 60,000 Sq. Ft Facility in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania:

Finished Goods Testing:

Once products are packaged and labeled, our quality team performs additional testing before releasing product for commerce. Only the quality team has the ability to release product as part of our Standard Operating Procedures (SOP’s). The quality has expressed written authority to reject or hold any product that does not meet testing or other requirements.

In Summary:

Once product has been released, it will have undergone no less than 10 different testing and validation steps ensuring the quality and testing requirements that we have set have been met. This is how we ensure our quality remains top notch so you can trust that your products will meet specifications and your customers have a consistent and quality product that you and they can rely on time after time, batch after batch, month after month