Can you trust the vitamins you find on the shelves?
The vitamin industry has a lot of moving parts when it comes to ensuring the safety and effectiveness of products.
Brands like Manna, are committed to making top-quality vitamins from the most bioavailable ingredients. We prioritize health and safety in every product by complying with legal regulations and engaging in third-party testing.
Manna goes the distance to ensure that our vitamins are potent and effective. But that’s not true of all vitamin brands.
Regulatory bodies like the FDA play a role in keeping vitamins safe. They help set standards that ensure products are safe and marketed honestly.
However, the rules around vitamins and dietary supplements differ from those for prescription drugs, so it’s not always easy to know what you’re getting from your vitamins.
Supplement brands must follow the rules set by the FDA, which includes manufacturing regulations like Current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP).
While these regulations are beneficial, they only go so far as to ensure the safety of the product—not its effectiveness. This means that many brands are legally able to sell low-quality, ineffective supplements.
So, how do you know if your vitamin brand is honest? Let’s learn about how vitamins are regulated to better understand what’s in your supplement bottle.
The Role of the FDA in the Vitamin Industry
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is the government body responsible for overseeing the safety of food, drugs and cosmetics in the US. It ensures that companies follow the law when making and selling products.
The FDA doesn’t “approve” dietary supplements in the way it does pharmaceuticals. Unlike drugs, supplements don’t go through a pre-market approval process and they are not tested for efficacy before going to market. The FDA only steps in if products contain harmful ingredients or make misleading health claims (e.g. claiming a supplement cures cancer).
The FDA also requires transparency in labeling. Supplement facts labels must include the supplement’s ingredients and proper usage information.
This might sound reassuring. However, supplements can be deemed safe and legal by the FDA without actually being effective.
But how can supplements be ineffective if their labeling must be accurate? Vitamins and minerals come from many different sources. Some of them are easy for your body to absorb, and others are nearly useless. Some companies opt for cheap, unabsorbable nutrients instead of highly bioavailable ones. They are honest about this on their label, knowing full well that the public doesn’t know the difference between nutrient sources.
Take magnesium oxide and magnesium citrate, for example. Both are forms of the essential mineral magnesium, but magnesium oxide is significantly less bioavailable than magnesium citrate [2]. One brand may advertise a 60% recommended daily allowance (RDA) of magnesium, sourced from magnesium oxide. Another may offer a 30% RDA of magnesium, sourced from magnesium citrate. According to the FDA, both brands are legit. However, you will likely absorb much more magnesium from the 30% vitamin than the 60% vitamin.
The truth is, the RDA percentage doesn’t matter if the nutrient isn’t easily absorbed. Honest supplement companies like Manna use high-quality ingredients that contain vitamins your body can use. These sources are often more expensive, which is why some vitamins are much cheaper than others.
Manna follows all FDA regulations for dietary supplements. This includes transparent labeling, truthful claims and a commitment to quality. Manna aims to provide customers with clear, honest information so they can make the best choices about their health.
What is cGMP? And How Does it Apply to Vitamins?
Current Good Manufacturing Practices, or cGMP, are standards set (once again) by the FDA to ensure that products are manufactured according to legal standards.
These guidelines cover everything from the cleanliness of facilities to equipment to employee training. Supplement manufacturers in the US are required to adhere to cGMP standards.
This helps maintain the safety of dietary supplements, as it minimizes the risk of contamination, mislabeling and other manufacturing errors.
This is ALSO why it’s a good idea to buy vitamins from a brand that manufactures in the USA.
While the FDA requires foreign manufacturers who sell in the US to follow cGMP guidelines, hardly any of these facilities are inspected [3].
Key cGMP components include:
- Facility cleanliness and maintenance
- Equipment sanitation and storage
- Employee hygiene and training
- Quality control measures
- Record-keeping at each production stage
Manna is fully committed to cGMP standards in all its manufacturing processes. We work hand-in-hand with our cGMP facility in California. We have complete input and control of our production from ingredient sourcing to final packaging.
This gives us control over the safety and quality of every product we produce!
Manna offers customers peace of mind that every bottle they purchase has undergone thorough checks for quality and purity.
What is Third-Party Testing? And Why Is it So Important?
Up until now, we’ve learned about the requirements the FDA imposes on vitamin companies. But what may be even more important are the regulations that companies impose on themselves.
To self-regulate, brands can send their products to third-party labs.
These labs test their products for quality, potency and safety.
Products are checked for key factors such as the exact amount of each ingredient, harmful contaminants and accurate labeling.
This testing builds consumer trust, as customers know that an independent source has verified the product’s quality.
Since the FDA does not require approval for dietary supplements before they go on sale, third-party testing offers an extra layer of accountability and transparency.
Third-party testing is a core aspect of Manna’s production process.
Every batch of liposomal vitamins is tested extensively by impartial third-party labs. This testing process verifies nutrient potency, concentration and safety.
Thanks to our near-constant testing and quality controls, Manna customers know they are getting exactly what they read on the label.
FAQs and Customer Concerns
Vitamin regulations are a complex topic. We know that in the end, you just want to understand whether you’re getting a safe and effective product. Find the answers below.
Is the FDA involved in the approval of supplements before they hit the market?
No, the FDA does not approve dietary supplements before they are sold. The FDA technically “oversees” supplement safety and labeling requirements. But in reality, companies are responsible for ensuring product safety before market release. The FDA monitors products on the market after they are released, but it’s not always good at policing harmful products [4]. For this reason, it’s important to do your research before choosing a supplement brand.
What should I look for on labels to ensure product quality?
When checking supplement labels, the first thing to look for is evidence of regulatory standards like “cGMP” or “third-party tested.” Also, make sure that the vitamins are manufactured in the USA. Next, check for the exact amounts of each nutrient and their sources. The nutrient source appears in parentheses directly next to the name of the nutrient on the supplement facts label. Do a quick Google search of each source to find out whether it has high or low bioavailability.
How can I trust that a vitamin product is safe and effective?
The best way to trust a vitamin company is to do your own research. Look for products from reputable companies that follow cGMP guidelines and use third-party testing. Then, do a little sleuthing on their website to understand who they are, where they come from and which ingredients they use in their products. If you want to go a step further, send them an email with your concerns. Trustworthy companies will be happy to talk to you about their products or even give you a call. At Manna, we love it when customers call in to chat about vitamins. We’re kind of obsessed with our liposomal supplements—we take them every day! Get in touch with us anytime if you have any questions.
When it Comes to Vitamins, The Most Important Standards Are Your Own
Choosing a high-quality supplement isn’t just about getting more nutrients—it’s about ensuring that what you’re putting into your body is safe, effective and worth your cash.
Understanding the FDA’s role and cGMP standards helps you make better choices, but these regulations are the bare minimum.
You must also look for supplements that are tested by impartial third parties, like those from Manna.
It’s important to understand that third-party testing, quality control and high-quality ingredients cost money, and this is reflected in the price you pay.
It can be tempting to buy cheaper supplements, but lower costs come with trade-offs.
Products that aren’t held to high manufacturing or testing standards can contain less of the active ingredients you want. Or worse, they could contain impurities or harmful filler ingredients.
Spending 20% less on a low-quality supplement that doesn’t work is like throwing 100% of your money in the trash.
When it comes to your health, quality and transparency matter.
That’s why Manna prioritizes both at every stage of the production process.
We believe in making vitamins that actually work, and we take every step necessary to do so. We adhere to all FDA regulations, we built our own cGMP manufacturing facility and we engage in robust third-party testing.
And that’s just the start.
Our supplements are formulated by scientists who choose the most bioavailable nutrient sources. We even designed our own liposomal delivery system that helps your body absorb up to 10x more nutrients with every dose.
If you have questions or want to learn more about Manna’s commitment to making the best vitamins ever, reach out—we’re here to help!
FAQ
Third-party testing is when an independent lab verifies the quality, potency, and safety of vitamins. It builds consumer trust by ensuring products meet high standards.
No, the FDA does not pre-approve vitamins. Instead, they monitor products on the market to ensure safety and truthful labeling.
cGMP stands for Current Good Manufacturing Practices. It’s a set of FDA guidelines that ensure vitamins are produced safely and consistently.
Vitamins vary in effectiveness due to differences in ingredient quality and bioavailability, which impacts how well your body can absorb nutrients.
TIP!: Look for Liposomal Delivery – this improves bioavailability, which means you’re getting vitamins where they need to be going!
Look for evidence of third-party testing, cGMP compliance, and transparent labeling. Trusted brands often share details about their manufacturing processes.
Check for cGMP certification, third-party testing, nutrient sources, and manufacturing location. These factors indicate higher quality standards.
Yes, third-party testing adds an extra layer of quality assurance, verifying ingredient potency and purity, which can make supplements more effective.
Sources:
- https://customcompounding.com.au/stop-buying-cheap-vitamins-heres-why/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2407766/
- https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-22-103611
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4330859/
