By ANSI
The ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB), a wholly owned subsidiary of the American National Standards Institute, has completed the highly anticipated Global Retail and Manufacturer Alliance (GRMA) pilot accreditation program. Launched last February, the pilot focused on providing accreditation to third-party certification bodies to the GRMA Master Certification Program Document.
The GRMA certification program uses consensus-based quality system standards for good manufacturing practices (GMP) to strengthen safety, quality, and trust throughout the supply chain for several non-food related industries. Operating in accordance with ISO/IEC 17065, “General requirements for bodies operating product certification systems,” and the GRMA’s certification scheme, the scope(s) of accreditation extends to the following health and wellness product categories and incorporates American National Standards:
- Dietary supplements. NSF/ANSI 455-2-2018, “Good Manufacturing Practices for Dietary Supplements”
- Cosmetics. NSF/ANSI 455-3-2018, “Good Manufacturing Practices for Cosmetics”
- Over-the-counter (OTC) drugs. NSF/ANSI 455-4-2018, “Good Manufacturing Practices for Over-the-Counter Drugs,” which applies to OTC drugs based on Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) for manufacturing, processing, packing, or holding drugs for finished pharmaceuticals (21 CFR Parts 210 and 211)
The certification bodies participating in the pilot–NSF International, Perry Johnson Registrars Food Safety Inc., and UL-Verification Services Inc.—earned ANAB accreditation to the GRMA Certification Program–Version 1 across all three scopes and GMP standards. ANAB’s accreditation signifies that the certification body operates in accordance with internationally accepted criteria, maintains an unbiased adherence to rigorous auditing standards, and is competent to perform the necessary evaluations.
“This is an exciting achievement for each of our certification bodies,” says Allyn Shultis, executive director of GRMA, an independent certification program owner focused on strengthening safety, quality, and trust in the health and wellness category. “ANAB’s accreditation is an indication of trust and quality that provides confidence to regulators, members, and retailers on a global scale that each of the approved certification bodies are competent and impartial in their execution of a GRMA GMP certification audit.”
“This effort represents an important step forward in protecting consumer health and safety, while also improving efficiencies and risk management programs for retailers and manufacturers alike,” says Lane Hallenbeck, executive director of ANAB. “The ANSI-approved Good Manufacturing Practices standards reflect quality, safety, and transparency. And by having a single standard for each product category for use by all certification bodies, industry can use the certification to meet multiple customer and retailer needs.”
About the author
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is a private, nonprofit organization that administers and coordinates the U.S. voluntary standards and conformity assessment system.
This article first appeared on ansi.org and is published here with permission.