LCG also offeres the Informed Choice and Informed Sport certifications which are focused on finished products. The Informed Ingredinet verifies that the ingredients in question are free from impurities and from substances banned by various sports bodies, such as the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA).
In additon to the focus on actual banned substances, LCG says the certification serves as a quality benchmark, insuring that the ingreidnets are made in facilties with verifiable GMP compliance. Taiyo joins more that 20 other ingeridnet suppliers that have gone through the certification process to date.
Amazon move emphasizes need for certification
Taiyo vice president Scott Smith said the certification adds certainty to the use of the company’s ingreidnets in sports nutrition product for brand holders, and also will ease the process of complying with new requirements Amazon has put in place for supplements.
“Informed Ingredient certification provides our customers with the additional confidence that when they use our brands in their formulas, they are not just effective but they are also safe for athletes to use,” Smith said.
Informed Choice is one of Amazon’s approved third-party quality certification programs required for selling dietary supplements on its site.
“Taiyo stands ready to help our customers with their Informed Choice certification and Amazon compliance,” Smith said.
“The momentum is shifting on the ingredient side. Reputable ingredient suppliers are doing more than just testing to see if their products are safe. Informed Ingredient certification adds an additional level of credibility and quality assurance to their brands, which further distinguishes them from their competition,” said Paul Klinger, LGC business development director.
Informed Choice, based in England, has been expanding the US market for a number of years. In 2016 the company inaugurated a new laboratory in Lexington, KY, which put the company near one of its major markets. Doping testing for race horses is another service that LCG offers.