Wegmans announces “Verified with Confidence” program for supplements

13-Apr-2022 - Last updated on 13-Apr-2022 at 16:36 GMT

Wegmans Food Markets, Inc. is a supermarket chain with stores in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland, and Massachusetts. Image courtesy of Wegmans

NSF will administer the new program announced by grocery chain Wegmans, which will cover all supplements, herbals, probiotics, and CBD products sold at its 106 stores.

NSF is providing auditing services, product testing, label review accuracy, and claims substantiation for the new program.

“We have been concerned about inconsistent requirements in testing standards in the supplement industry,” said Karen Shadders, Wegmans Vice President of Health and Well-being. “Our Verified with Confidence program allows us to ensure the products on our shelves contain the ingredients stated on the bottle.”

Wegmans’ Verified with Confidence program will incorporate the most current ANSI-accredited Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) audit standards – NSF/ANSI 455-2 for Dietary Supplements and NSF/ANSI 455-3 for Cosmetics/Personal Care Products. These new GMP audit standards are built on the current regulations detailed in 21 CFR 111 and 117 and came as a result of consensus amongst retailers, suppliers, and other stakeholders (the Grocery Retailers and Manufacturers Alliance, GRMA).

Ahead of the curve

“Wegmans is demonstrating true leadership with its Verified with Confidence program,” said David Trosin, Managing Director of Health Sciences Certification at NSF. “Consumers want to know what’s in the products they buy and more and more they are expecting retailers to play an active role in quality assurance and product safety.

“We envision a future when most major retailers will require brands to show proof of product quality in some form or another, whether through independent assurance of GMP compliance, independent laboratory testing of products, or both.”

Trosin told us that Wegmans have been talking to NSF for some time because the retailer recognized which way the industry was going in terms of verification programs and wanted to be ahead of the curve.

“We worked with NSF to launch this program knowing this is the right thing to do for our customers,” said Betsy Crater, Non-food Quality Assurance Manager at Wegmans Food Markets. “We are excited to be a leader in this initiative and help inspire others in the industry to get on board as well.”

NSF said the Verified with Confidence program sets an example for other retailers and establishes trust with consumers that Wegmans products will meet quality standards. Trosin, without giving too much away, said other retailers see something happening, suggesting announcements regarding other retailers in the months ahead.

NSF began certifying dietary supplement manufacturers and personal care product manufacturers to the new NSF/ANSI 455 GMP standards in January 2021.