Registration of a finished product/ingredient with INFORMED-CHOICE involves 3 stages:
Stage 1: Product/Ingredient Assessment Review
A full review of the quality systems in place at manufacturing facility is undertaken.
Product/Ingredient Evaluation
Raw Material (RM) Evaluation at Each Production/Packing Site
Raw Material Supplier Assessment Procedures
Certificate and SOP Review for all Production/Packing/Storage Areas
Label Claim, Purity and Contaminant Testing Review
Third Party Manufacturer (TPM)
Stage 2: Pre-Registration Sample Testing
Before a product/ingredient can be registered with INFORMED-CHOICE, five pre-registration samples of the product/ingredient must be tested using HFL's nutritional supplement screen. These samples must not show evidence for contamination with prohibited substances.
The 5 samples will be taken from across several production runs/batches (3 samples from 1 batch and 1 sample each from 2 other batches). This testing will be carried out in parallel with the Product/Ingredient Assessment (Stage 1). Analysis time is typically 6 working days from receipt at the lab, and results will be reported to the prospective member via a Certificate of Analysis.
Stage 3: Post-Registration Requirements
Once Stages 1 and 2 are complete, and the requirements of INFORMED-CHOICE have been met, the product/ingredient will be accepted for registration with INFORMED-CHOICE. A license agreement will be issued, which enables the new member company to use the INFORMED-CHOICE logo on the registered product/ingredient. The registered product/ingredient will be listed on the INFORMED-CHOICE.org website. This includes detailed information of all batches that have been tested. A link to the member company's website is also added.