Washington, D.C.— The Natural Products Association (NPA) has announced that the Supplement Safety and Compliance Initiative (SSCI) is accepting nominations for the Benchmark Committee, Technical and General Working Groups. SSCI, which launched in early January, is the first retailer-driven, consumer-focused initiative in the industry. It strives to give its millions of consumers confidence in the safety and compliance of dietary supplements they use every day.

The purpose of the Benchmark Committee is to ensure application schemes meet the standards. SSCI seeks candidates with degrees in food and nutrition related or bioscience disciplines, detailed knowledge of the SSCI Guidance document, as well as knowledge in supplement safety management systems, audit principles, procedures, and techniques, accreditation and certification processes and procedures, and applicable legislative and regulatory requirements. The Technical Working Groups include working groups in auditor competence, raw material authenticity and traceability, regulatory affairs, and SSCI Guidance document maintenance. It is composed of technical experts from retailers, manufacturers, and other industry associations. The General Working Groups include working groups in communications and media, and implementation of SSCI priorities and goals. More groups are being added. “NPA and SSCI are seeking out experts who will help us achieve the goals of promoting safety, compliance and consumer confidence in each step of the supply chain from farm to store shelf,” said Dan Fabricant, Ph.D., CEO and executive director of NPA. A balance of retailers, ingredient manufacturers and producers, and finished product manufacturers will provide a balanced perspective as work towards the goals of the SSCI.