Supplements

[Guest guest]

Supplements

Many of our members have called us with concerns about the vitamins

and food supplements they take every day.

 

NOW Foods, one of the supplement manufacturers M4NL works closely

with, offered to explain the impact GE is having on the supplement

industry.

 

Mothers for Natural Law spoke with James Roza, Director of Quality

Assurance of Now Natural Foods, and 20-year veteran of the Natural

Products Industry. James is on the board of Natural Nutritional

Foods Association's Compliance Committee, and the Quality Control

Committee of the American Herbal Products Association. He is

currently chairing a committee to establish standards for Grape Seed

Extract Products and as a member of the GMO Task Force (with Mothers

for Natural Law), working towards the preservation of Identity

Preserved Foods and Ingredients.

 

Jim, can you tell our readers how vitamins are made?

 

" There are many different ways vitamins can be produced. Some of the

more common ways would include: hydrolyzation (breaking things into

smaller components), enzymatic conversation (using enzymes to

convert substances), and purification of food commodities such as

corn syrup or soy oil, bio-fermentation, and chemical synthesis.

 

For example, Ascorbic Acid (vitamin C) is produced from the glucose

extracted from corn syrup by using some of the aforementioned

procedures. "

 

So, GE ingredients have found their way even into supplements?

" Unfortunately, yes. Because the starter material used to produce

some of our most commonly used vitamins are food commodities such as

soy and corn, the use of genetically modified foods reaches the

consumer even at the supplement level.

 

The proteins or fragments of the soy or corn remain intact through

the various permutations the foods must undergo before they reach

their finished forms as vitamins. This also applies to the

excipients (fillers, lubricants, processing agents, etc.) that are

also used in vitamin production. "

 

What is NOW doing about these GE ingredients?

 

" NOW Foods is pro-actively working with suppliers to make them aware

of the potential problems inherent in GE foods.

 

It is our expressed desire to lobby for the preservation of non-GE

foods so that they can be labeled as such and give the consumer the

right to make an educated decision of their own.

 

We hope to create a situation whereby manufacturers have easy

access to vitamins and food ingredients produced from non-GE foods.

 

At this point it is a grass roots effort, but all great causes have

their start there. Given the potential hazards posed by these

genetically modified foods, it is the only ethical thing to do. "

 

What are your feelings about the GE components in the supplements

industry?

 

" I believe there will be a divergence of supplement products offered

to the consumer. Some companies will take the high road and use non-

GE food components in their products and others will not, seeing it

as a frivolous concession to " radical activist groups. "

 

Whichever the case, I believe, based on the groundswell of support

this is receiving from the public, that it will be incumbent upon

manufacturers to label their products accordingly. The challenge

will be to move this issue forward expeditiously.

 

I believe we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg in regards to

an issue that will continue to grow as new transgenic and

genetically modified material are produced. "

 

How is NOW addressing consumer concerns about GE foods? What is your

position on labeling?

 

" By being part of an industry task force to champion the cause of GE-

free foods, working with Mothers for Natural Law, and making our

suppliers aware of its potential down sides. We are also embarking

upon a continual program in all our divisions to do everything

possible to eliminate genetic engineering from our products. We will

start with letters to our suppliers to solicit information about the

possible use of GE components in their products, and set standards

for what is and is not acceptable. In terms of labeling, we will

work towards finding a position that is meaningful and workable for

all concerned. This will require input from all parties and be in

accordance with labeling requirements that we would all adhere to. "

 

http://www.safe-food.org/-consumer/brands.html#supp