The U.S. Pharmacopieal (USP) Convention has just released a first-of-its kind collection of standards designed to assist dietary supplements manufacturers in providing quality products to consumers.
The USP Dietary Supplements Compendium (DSC) is a comprehensive resource containing quality specifications (identity, strength, purity, and performance characteristics) of more than 500 dietary supplements and ingredients. In addition to these standards, the DSC includes general and regulatory information, guidance documents, appendices, and macro/microscopy, thin layer chromatography (TLC) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) full-color images that greatly simplify the analysis of ingredients of botanical origin—making it a central repository of necessary information for dietary supplements manufacturers.
The DSC serves as a tool for manufactures in:
- Developing, manufacturing and testing new products;
- Qualifying raw materials;
- Preparing for international quality control and cGMP audits;
- Setting and validating standard operating procedures;
- Collecting in-process and batch-release tests; and
- Accurately packaging, labeling and storing products.