The Science Behind the Effectiveness of USP Ingredients

You have undoubtedly heard of USP ingredients, but you may not fully understand their role in keeping the manufacture and consumption of foods and equipment safe. USP ingredient supplier Bell Chem has the following information to help you better appreciate the science behind USP ingredients and how they keep facilities and end-users safe. 

USP (United States Pharmacopeia) develops standards for testing and developing products. Their end result is the marketing of products that pose little or no risk for the end users. USP tests include ensuring sterility of products labeled as such, measuring the biological burden of products to verify they fall within a standard range, and maintaining products are free of endotoxins. Together, these tests check the identity, strength, purity, and performance of products while answering the questions of what a product contains, in what amount, how pure the product is, and how it works.

The USP Ingredient Verification Programs for products used for human consumption and medical care are strictly controlled not once, but continually. All portions of the supply chain must meet these guidelines in order for an end product to meet the strict USP standards. Bell Chem’s selection of USP products ensures your supply chain is USP verified and meets or exceeds all standards. Your organization benefits since the products shipped via Bell Chem are consistent, of the highest quality, and certified. 

USP Ingredient Verification for Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs)

APIs are the active ingredients - the medicine - given to individuals over-the-counter or prescribed. These medications may be natural or synthetic; their efficacy is based on the correct dosage. 

USP Ingredient Verification for Excipients

On the flip side of APIs are excipients. Most ingredients contained within medications are excipients with the active ingredient requiring a small fraction of a pill or capsule by volume. Bell Chem’s vast quantities of USP excipients include lactose anhydrous, microcrystalline cellulose 101 and 102, and magnesium stearate, to name a few.

USP Ingredient Verification for Dietary Ingredients

How do you verify what is written on a package is what is contained within it? USP verified dietary ingredients ensure the label matches the contents every time. Aspartame, caffeine, folic acid, and sodium chloride are all Bell Chem USP-verified ingredients you will be proud to add to your packaging.

The strict USP guidelines Bell Chem follows ensure our products meet or exceed all cGMP and QCM guidelines annually.  

Examples of USP testing

USP testing includes several variations with the most common - USP 61 and USP 62 - focusing on microbial contaminants of products used in healthcare and the food and drug industries. The microbes are tested on a variety of agar plates to determine growth of the microbe in question. Diluents such as sterile saline and neutralizers such as sodium thiosulfate are active participants in sample preparation. 

With pharmaceuticals, a simple USP sample test removes random capsules from a lot and tests them to verify their contents do not vary widely from one capsule to the next, and that the active ingredients contained within match the amount present on the label. Each capsule is assayed to determine individual weights of each ingredient.

Bell Chem is a USP ingredient supplier based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) with hundreds of products stocked in their 50,000+ square-foot warehouse. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us an online message.

Top Dietary and Nutritional Supplement Trends in 2024

The market trends for 2024 as they relate to dietary and nutritional supplements are exploding in holistic wellness and supplements specific to gender, race, and ethnicity. USP ingredients supplier Bell Chem presents a handful of these trends to you as you increase your health this year.

What could you do with $183,000,000? Imagine 1/3 of that amount being spent by Americans on supplements – the other 2/3 is divided among the world’s other countries. Health is vitally important to everyone, and the market is ripe for supplements focused on both physical and mental well-being. In fact, “feeling well” is the main goal of those polled asking about health goals. To that end, supplements focusing on better sleep quality and stress reduction are trending ever upward. The following supplement categories fall under the umbrella of holistic health.

Botanicals

With 48% of Americans convinced botanicals are effective and close to 1/3 of the same demographic interested in improving their mental status and mood with botanicals, these traditional and natural remedies are proving potent. High on this list are adaptogenic herbs such as rhodiola and ginseng, which positively adapt your mind to stress, anxiety, sleep support, mental clarity, and fatigue. Bell Chem’s long list of natural oils should be high on your list of botanical additives.

Skin health

Sunscreen and acne cream are important, but skin care has come a long way since the 1980s. Within the past 5 years the skin health market has increased a whopping 23% globally. In the United States, 1 of every 3 new product launches relates to skin health. Most supplements include Vitamins C, E, and B complex along with magnesium.

Focus on the female

A woman’s changing body needs supplements to support her during adolescence, pregnancy and maternal care, all stages of menopause, and elderly care. Iron, collagen, protein, and calcium support almost every stage of development while new supplements contain ingredients specific to increasing mood, supporting good sleep habits, and decreasing inflammation in joints. 

Sports nutrition

While this may seem an old category, the members of this group are ever evolving. New supplements are hitting the market designed for e-gamers and focus on prolonged focus, as well as visual stress and sustained energy. Looking for more cardiovascular activity? Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in the United States with 1 out of every 5 adults playing within the past year. Obviously, supplements for joint health and overall energy are generated toward this exciting sport. These supplements often contain a variety of USP ingredients to achieve the desired effects. 

Bell Chem is a USP ingredients supplier based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) with hundreds of products stocked in their 50,000+ square-foot warehouse, including dozens of food and dietary additives perfect for your nutritional supplement enterprise. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us an online message.

How Manufacturers Make Dietary Supplements

The process of creating a dietary supplement seems rather mundane on the surface – squeeze a substance into a pill form and you’re ready to roll out your product. If only it were that easy. USP ingredient supplier Bell Chem gives a little background on the myriad steps from formulation to completion of dietary supplements.

Developing a formula

Depending on your goal – relieving joint pain or stiffness, increasing energy levels, supporting physical or mental health, or any of the other goals of dietary supplements – a formula with the specific active and inactive science-based ingredients must be developed.

Manufacturing necessities

Every capsule, pill, and tablet needs the exact amount of active and inactive ingredients. These measurements are only feasible with specifically calibrated scales and balances. Another portion of physical equipment is particle modifiers, which perform precisely what their name implies by hammering, granulating, oscillating, rolling, agglomerating, and otherwise transforming a liquid or solid into a finished product. Once products are the correct viscosity, they are blended and filled into capsules or pressed into tablets before being packaged.

Choosing the correct raw materials from Bell Chem

With a wide array of USP-designated ingredients, Bell Chem is sure to supply you with the products you need at a price you can afford. We can ship your 100% pure items quickly and accurately. No matter where your chemicals and supplements originate, it is vitally important to test the raw materials once they reach your premises.

Testing

Research before development of your product will give you precise measurements, but physically testing products will ensure the manufacturing process is correct. Pilot batches and instrument adjustments ensure your dietary supplement meets expectations. Once the pilot batch test proves positive, a production run ensues. Production runs include testing for uniformity in the mixture and content, particle size analysis, flowability, and amount of disintegration (absorption) over time. 

At last the final product is ready to be tested using the same procedures for the raw materials, including identity and potency along with microbiological and heavy metal compliance. Approval at this level via the FDA’s Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) leads to a finished product ready to be distributed. 

Quality control

Quality control is vital at every step of the manufacturing process. Armed with a checklist and specific set of regulatory requirements, quality control tests products and equipment to meet or exceed manufacturing guidelines. 

Packaging and labeling

This might seem a simple step requiring the advertising department, but the FDA is involved in this step as well since package labels must include the product name, serving size, list of ingredients, health claims, and dietary restrictions. 

Bell Chem is a USP ingredients supplier based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) with hundreds of products stocked in their 50,000+ square-foot warehouse, including many raw materials for dietary supplements. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us an online message.

What is a USP Ingredient?

Many ingredients can be used in manufacturing or cleaning products without the USP (United States Pharmacopeia) seal. Prescription medications, however, must carry a USP seal. The difference between these categories is simple: any product meeting USP standards has specific evidence of purity, quality, and strength and is generally related to fields of medicine and pharmaceuticals, food ingredients, and supplements. Learn more about Bell Chem’s line of USP ingredients and their stringent quality guidelines.

Graded on Quality

Ingredients and chemicals added to products are graded on their purity, efficacy, and quality. Those meeting USP standards are of the highest quality grade. These standards were established in 1820 with the advent of the first United States Pharmacopeia published as a reference guide for pharmacists to create preparations of the United States’ most commonly utilized prescription drugs. 

The USP merged with the National Formulary and Drug Standards Laboratory (NF) 155 years later. While prescription drugs must meet USP standards, many other industries (researchers, laboratories, food manufacturers) recognize extremely pure ingredients as necessary for their consumers since less pure substances may lead to incorrect data, poor reactions, or health concerns. 

Laws Related to USP Ingredients

In 1906, the Pure Food and Drug Act defined drugs as “all medicines and preparations recognized in the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) or National Formulary (NF),” a definition that bound prescriptions to USP ingredients. At that time, the prestige of adding “USP” to a prescription drug gave it a seal of purity. Today, all prescription drugs must meet USP standards, and oftentimes manufacturers no longer bother to add these distinguished letters to their packaging since it is redundant.

Exceptions for Supplements

The 1994 Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act was enacted to allow citizens access to natural health remedies. However, USP standards are merely voluntary for dietary supplements. Typically, lettered vitamins (B, C, and D, for instance) and minerals (iron, zinc, et cetera) meet strict USP guidelines. Other supplements may meet these standards, or simply meet the standards of the individual manufacturer. The USP Dietary Supplement Verification Program (DSVP) gives manufacturers the quality USP Verified Mark, which provides consumers and professionals confidence that the product within is stringently manufactured.  

Bell Chem is a USP ingredients supplier based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) with hundreds of products stocked in their 50,000+ square-foot warehouse. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us an online message.

Do You Know What “USP” Means in the Term “USP Ingredient”?

You may have heard the term USP Ingredient, but do you know what “USP” stands for? USP stands for United States Pharmacopoeia. A pharmacopoeia is a book containing a compilation of pharmaceutical products with their chemical formulas and methods of preparation. This word derives from Ancient Greek and literally means “drug making”. The United States Pharmacopeia is the official pharmacopoeia of the US and is published dually with the National Formulary as the USP-NF. The USP establishes written standards for medicines, food ingredients, other ingredients, and dietary supplement products. Manufacturers, as well as regulatory agencies, use the USP to ensure products have the appropriate identity, quality, purity, strength, consistency, etc. These standards help limit the introduction of potential adulterants and other problems at the ingredient level.

When you see the letters “USP” on a product label, this means that the manufacturer is claiming to adhere to the USP standards. In addition to this, the United States Pharmacopoeia Convention conducts testing and audit programs for dietary supplement products and ingredients. Products that meet the requirements of the program can display the “USP Verified Dietary Supplement Mark” on their labels, which is different from simply having “USP” on a product’s label.

With an abundance of world-class seaports within a few short hours, our Florida chemical supply company is positioned as the “go to” supplier for companies needing USP ingredients. Check out our USP ingredients page for a list of the USP ingredients, as well as other chemical products we offer. Give us a call today at 407-339-BELL (2355) to place an order!