Group to Offer Dietary-Supplement Tests

The Washington-based Council for Responsible Nutrition will launch this spring a voluntary dietary-supplement testing program for its members, which include Herbalife International and Pharmavite, both based in Los Angeles. Products will be tested by Michigan-based NSF International, an outside service. Supplements found free of contaminants and that contain ingredient amounts stated on their labels may use the NSF mark. The program is a response to consumer skepticism about supplements, which has translated into slower sales. Additionally, many in the industry worry about more aggressive government regulation. CRN declined to say which companies had agreed to participate in the program. Another trade group, the Newport Beach-based National Nutritional Foods Assn., has had a voluntary testing program for two years.