Before a product makes it to our shelves, it undergoes a series of approval steps that begins with the manufacturer ensuring their product does not contain any of the ingredients we have deemed to be of questionable quality or safety. We will not even consider a product if it contains any of these ingredients. For more information see the Natural Grocers document Things We Won’t Carry and Why. 

The next step is for manufacturers to complete our quality questionnaire and to supply documentation to support the information they provide. This form is rather extensive and includes questions pertaining to the raw ingredients used, the manufacturing process, quality testing and packaging. 

All of the supplements we carry, including our private label products, are required to comply with current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMPs) established by the FDA. According to the FDA, “cGMPs are intended to establish a comprehensive system of process controls, including documentation of each stage of the manufacturing process, that can minimize the likelihood of, or detect, problems and variances in manufacturing as they occur and before the product is in its finished form…Manufacturing according to cGMP means that the manufacturing process incorporates a set of controls in the design and production processes to assure a quality finished product.”i   

We go even further by requiring certificates of analysis on finished product and proof of testing on raw ingredients. We require testing for authentication, purity, contamination and adulteration. We have asked for heavy metal testing for years and look for our manufacturers to meet the established guidelines from California Proposition 65, United States Pharmacopeia (USP), and American Herbal Products Association (AHPA). We also may periodically perform independent lab testing on supplements to ensure that the potencies and quality are truly what is being stated on the label. 

In addition to meeting these requirements, we also pay attention to the little details, like:

• Never carrying products with synthetic vitamin E
• Never carrying CoQ10 made from Genetically Modified raw materials
• Ensuring raw materials derived from countries with questionable quality and safety records (such as China and India) have been third party tested to guarantee they are the ingredient they claim to be and are not contaminated or spiked with synthetic compounds
• Ensuring the vitamin C and B vitamins we carry are never sourced from petroleum 
• Requiring additional testing of certain ingredients, like ginger, that are often contaminated with dangerous pesticides
• Only carrying a limited number of stimulant based weight-loss and energy supplements that contain ingredients that may be harmful to some individuals
• And even scrutinizing capsule ingredients.

Some supplement manufacturers add additional claims to their labels to help to differentiate their products. If the claim is backed by a third-party certifier (such as “USDA Organic” or “Non-GMO Project Verified”) you can trust that claim. Claims with no agreed upon enforceable definition, such as “pharmaceutical grade”, should be evaluated carefully. Although manufacturers using the claim “pharmaceutical grade” may be trying to communicate that they adhere to United States Pharmacopeia standards for pharmaceuticals, this claim does not actually guarantee that these companies are, or have proven they are, using such standards. The term “pharmaceutical grade” is not regulated by the FDA, nor does it mean that a supplement making this claim is endorsed or approved by the FDA (the FDA doesn’t approve dietary supplements). While some companies using this claim do go above and beyond the standards required for GMP, this additional care is typical of all higher quality lines, like the ones we have carefully vetted and carry, whether they use the term “pharmaceutical grade” or not.  

Because we demand so much information from our vendors, we often take longer to add new products to our shelves. This means you may not find the latest supplement craze or fad in our stores right away, but you can be assured that the ones that you do find are the absolute best you can buy.