Certifications
USDA Organic
The National Organic Program (run by the USDA) is in charge of labeling foods organic. In order for a food to be labeled “organic” it must meet the USDA’s organic standards.
Organic certification addresses a growing worldwide demand for organic food. It is intended to assure quality, prevent fraud, and to promote commerce. While such certification was not necessary in the early days of the organic movement, when small farmers would sell their produce directly at farmers’ markets, as organics have grown in popularity, more and more consumers are purchasing organic food through traditional channels, such as supermarkets. As such, consumers must rely on third-party regulatory certification.
For organic producers, certification identifies suppliers of products approved for use in certified operations. For consumers, “certified organic” serves as a product assurance, similar to “low fat”, “100% whole wheat”, or “no artificial preservatives”.
Physician Wellness Group Certifications
Certification is essentially aimed at regulating and facilitating the sale of organic products to consumers. Individual certification bodies have their own service marks, which can act as branding to consumers—a certifier may promote the high consumer recognition value of its logo as a marketing advantage to producers.
GRAS
Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS)
“GRAS” is an acronym for the phrase Generally Recognized As Safe. Under sections 201(s) and 409 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the Act), any substance that is intentionally added to food is a food additive, that is subject to premarket review and approval by FDA, unless the substance is generally recognized, among qualified experts, as having been adequately shown to be safe under the conditions of its intended use, or unless the use of the substance is otherwise excepted from the definition of a food additive.
GMP
GMP stands for Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP). GMP referes to the FDA regulations concerning the safe manufacture of Food, Dietary Supplements, Drugs, Medical Devices, and Cosmetics. The GMP regulations require the implementation of product safety and quality management systems. The GMP regulatory provisions are found in 21 CFR.
cGMP stands for “Current” Good Manufacturing Practices. The U.S. Code of Regulations refers to GMPs as cGMPs, but the terms GMP and cGMP are generally synonymous. In the United States, a cGMP consultant is the same as a GMP consultant.
NON-GMO
We scour the globe to find only the healthiest, happiest ingredients possible. That means, when we find our raw materials in non-GMO and organic we jump on the opportunity. However, sometimes the carriers we use in the product changes what we are allowed to put on the label. For example, we only use 100% certified organic papaya leaf in all of our products. However, sometimes it is hard to find organic glycerine to put the leaf into an extract. That’s why the label still shows our liquid extracts as non-GMO, and our ingredients list shows certified organic ingredients, but our label does not say “certified organic”. If even one small part of the product is not certified organic we are not allowed to claim the whole product is. We are currently working with our labs to find a better solution to make organic certified glycerine and capsules and bring you 100% organic certified finished products, so be on the lookout in 2018! In the meantime, please know that our purest ingredients are being use.
NSF
The National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) is an independent organization that develops standards and conducts product testing, inspection, and certification.
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