| Looks like a lot of uninformed opinions in here. As someone who has made a career consulting for supplement companies selling on Amazon, this does not surprise me. When Amazon first instituted testing requirements for supplements (something that already exists under federal law) they required all sellers to provide testing for all of their products. Failure to do so resulted in removal of your products from the marketplace. Since then, two things have changed. Certain supplement categories have additional testing requirements outside of what is expected by the FDA. Companies have to prove the absence of certain illegal ingredients. But, Amazon has switched to random testing requirements. In the last 3 years, Amazon has not asked a single one of my clients to provide any COAs. I have seen other brands have to provide some, but the requirements are very limited. It is for this reason, unsurprising that illegal products are making it into customer hands. It is my understanding that the individual who drove the campaign to get COAs, GMP certificates, etc for all supplement listings is no longer with Amazon, and nobody has filled that role since. That should be changed. But Amazon has always been aggressive over enforcement of marketing claims, and some claims will always instantly flag a COA requirement. Sellers use careful wording to avoid these flags. The solution is to make a COA required for the creation of these listings. I mean, let's take this one further. Most supplement companies are just marketing companies. They don't formulate the product, they don't manufacture the ingredients, and they don't even blend the powder. They make a brand. But, the FDA doesn't care. As a brand receiving product from a manufacturer, you are still required to test it. The manufacturer is also required to test the raw materials as well as the finished product. Yet, most companies I speak to are not testing product received. They rely solely on the manufacturer testing. So we should be requiring these brands to do their due diligence. Show me the COA you are supposed to have for every lot you send in. It's already required by the FDA. As is always the case with supplements, regulation is not the issue. It's enforcement |
For those of us who don't know about testing, can you explain COA/GMP and how robust the testing process is?
The reason I ask I'm a little concerned about Amazon's incentives not being aligned with consumers priority for high quality and safe product and is letting suppliers choose which product(s) to submit for testing rather than doing periodic random testing which I fear is too much to hope/ask for...