Not all supplements are created equally but Emerson Ecologics, the largest provider of dietary supplements and services to healthcare professionals, is taking aggressive steps to make it more clear to healthcare professionals and their patients which manufacturers to trust when it comes to a supplement's purity, identity and potency. In May, the company launched a first-of-its-kind quality assurance program called the Emerson Quality Program (EQP) that's now being accessed by thousands of healthcare practitioners nationwide.
"Since we launched the EQP we have identified some supplement manufacturers who are minimally compliant with federal regulations for the supplement industry, but we have also highlighted and verified those companies that are ahead of the curve and producing exceptionally high quality supplements," says Fran Towey, president of the 30-year-old company, Emerson Ecologics. "Healthcare professionals have difficulties accessing credible information about supplement quality and safety which is one of the major reasons we launched this program."
Emerson Ecologics distributes more than 20,000 products from hundreds of dietary supplement manufacturers to healthcare practitioners who recommend supplements to their patients. Earlier this year, the company launched the EQP to distribute unbiased and verified information about the manufacturing practices of its suppliers to healthcare professionals. The EQP is voluntary for manufacturers and there is no cost to participate. Towey says that current participation is strong and growing.