NSF is an independent organization specialized in auditing and certifying, while British firm David Begg Associates (DBA) focuses on training and auditing for the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries.

With implementation of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) legislation in the US, training staff to understand regulations could become an extra layer of security for supplement manufacturers to invest in.

"I think there is a gap in training," Lori Bestervelt, NSF senior vice president and chief technical officer, told NutraIngredients-USA.

In the pharmaceutical industry there has long been a heavy emphasis on GMP training, according to Bestervelt, as well as on regulatory inspections for manufacturing and new products and processes.

"Where the pharmaceutical companies spend a lot of money making sure their quality assurance people are trained - it's a lesson that dietary supplement companies could follow," she said.

While critics have claimed the dietary supplement industry has not been regulated, the industry itself assures that it has been regulated all along - albeit in a post-regulatory framework, unlike the pharmaceutical industry's pre-market controls.

David Begg Associates are known to both industries in the UK and Europe.

"Our strategy is to make them as well known in the US as they are in Europe," said Bestervelt.

While it is the pharmaceutical industry that NSF is specifically looking to expand into at this point in time, it will also be branching into the biotechnology industry and thereby further touching on nutraceutical territory.

"DBA offers GMP auditing services," said Bestervelt. "We could also create training courses for US and Europe."

The organization offers two types of training - be it on-site training at a company's facilities, or external training courses for employees to attend.

NSF has also been aggressively expanding its testing and consulting services under the Global Life Sciences (GLS) division. The group plans to use the GLS division and the addition of DBA's capacity so that they compliment each other globally.

"We are using the GLS business as a platform to boost DBA in the US, and then using DBA as a springboard for GLS' services in Europe," said Bestervelt.

NSF recently made a bid to acquire European food safety and assurance company, CMi plc. The firm also looked to increase its presence in the global food safety arena with the addition of a new testing facility in China. This designed to analyze products or ingredients for the presence of melamine following recent recalls.