Makers Of Herbal Supplements Need To Ensure Product Quality At Every Step Of Production

Applying the principles of “quality by design” – ensuring quality at every step of herbal product production – would help allay consumer worries about safety and integrity, a U.S. review of more than 100 studies has found. An initial step in the process would be to verify the identity of raw materials (plants) used to make herbal supplements. The current process is flawed because of variations in growing, processing and naming plants used to make herbal supplements. According to the researchers, “the consumer must take it on faith that the supplement they are ingesting is an accurate representation of what is listed on the label.”