ATHLETE ASSURANCE PROGRAM

Amazon is one of the largest retailers of dietary supplements on the planet, and thankfully they have increased their scrutiny of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) compliance and product quality and safety. BSCG is recognized by Amazon as a testing and certification provider and we can handle all your Amazon testing needs in one place. Here is what you need to know to sell dietary supplements on Amazon.

Amazon wants all dietary supplements sold on its site to comply with all federal, state, and local laws. To be sold on Amazon, dietary supplements must be lawfully labeled. Label claims need to be accurate. For this to happen, manufacturers must get testing done on dietary supplements to create documentation that shows they conform to these rules. As of February 2021, a Certificate of Analysis (COA) from a manufacturer's lab is insufficient to sell dietary supplements on Amazon.

Without this documentation, you cannot sell your products on one of the world's biggest online marketplaces. Amazon already has a detailed compliance checklist, and this is another improvement in their processes. It's an upgrade that protects the reputation of dietary supplement manufacturers, consumers, and Amazon. This step toward greater transparency in the dietary supplement industry will likely increase trust, which will benefit everyone.

To protect consumers and dietary supplement manufacturers, Amazon now asks sellers to submit documents proving their products meet strict criteria that includes the following:

1. Manufactured under Good Manufacturing Practices.
2. Products must be lawful and safe.
3. Products should accurately reflect label claims.

To make this a possibility, they set forth a clear policy for dietary supplements here. These detail the following standards and requirements:

1. A valid good manufacturing practice (GMP) certificate issued by an accredited third-party certification body in compliance with 21 CFR 111 (for products that are a dietary supplement as defined at 21 U.S.C. 321(ff)), or 21 C.F.R. Part 117 (for any other human food product as defined at 21 U.S.C. 321(f)), or both. Amazon accepts G.M.P. certificates from accredited third-party certification bodies, including NSF/ANSI 455-2, NSF/ANSI 173 Section 8, GRMA 455-2, UL GMP, USP GMP, Eurofins, S.A.I. Global, S.G.S., Intertek, TGA, and SSCI.
2. Evidence of product enrollment or participation in one of the following third-party quality certification programs: NSF/ANSI 173 Product Certification, N.S.F. Certified for Sport®, BSCG Certified Drug Free®, Informed-Choice/Informed-Sport Program, U.S.P. Dietary Supplement Verification Program, or U.L. Brand Certification Program.

Amazon has adjusted its testing requirements to include drug testing for certain categories of dietary supplements. The following dietary supplement categories now require drug testing.

1. Sports Nutrition
2. Bodybuilding
3. Sexual enhancement
4. Weight loss
5. Weight management

An approved third-party testing facility must test these products to ensure their label claims are correct and follow good manufacturing processes (GMP). In addition these categories need to be tested for banned substances.

BSCG is one of Amazon's recommended third-party certification and testing providers. We are the world's most comprehensive authority that can ensure your products are featured prominently on Amazon. With 507 compounds in our screen, we cover 298 drugs on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List banned in sports and 209 prescription, O.T.C., and illicit drugs like opioids, muscle relaxers, PDE-5 inhibitors, weight loss agents, and others. This includes all the drugs required by Amazon.

Each category of dietary supplement has its own set of unique requirements. To be sold on Amazon, bodybuilding supplements need to have additional drug testing done for the drugs listed below.

A) Selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMS)
- Ostarine (Enobosarm)
- Ligandrol (LGD-4033)

B) Anabolic steroids
- 4-DHEA

C) Stimulants
- Sibutramine and its analogs desmethyl sibutramine, and didesmethylsibutramine
- DMAA

This Certificate of Analysis must be submitted once per year to Amazon to ensure the products are compliant. A laboratory accredited by a World Anti-Doping Association (WADA) or ISO/IEC 17025 must issue the COA Amazon won't accept Certificates of Analysis from an in-house lab. BSCG can test for all these compounds and more.

Weight loss and weight management products have been a dietary supplement category that hasn't always served consumers' best interests. There have been examples of people being harmed by hidden ingredients, scammed with ineffective products, and instances where weight loss supplements have contained banned substances.

To begin to remedy this, in addition to the documentation to sell any dietary supplement on Amazon (see above), weight loss and weight management products need to be drug tested for the following compounds:

- Sibutramine
- Desmethylsibutramine
- Phenolphthalein
- Fluoxetine

BSCG can test for all these compounds and the rest of your weight loss or weight management product testing needs for Amazon.

Selling hope has been on the F.D.A.'s radar for some time. Sexual enhancement supplements are possibly the oldest form of supplements. Not only is this product category ripe with misinformation, but sexual enhancement products may have hidden ingredients that pose a significant health risk. These may include prescription drug ingredients not written on the product labels.

To begin to remedy this, in addition to the documentation to sell any dietary supplement on Amazon (see above), sexual enhancement products need to have a Certificate of Analysis (C.O.A.) for the following compounds:

A) Sexual enhancements
- Sildenafil
- Tadalafil
- Vardenafi
- Sulfoaildenafil
- Desmethyl carbodenafil

BSCG's testing menu tests against over 500 banned substances to certify that a manufacturer's sexual enhancement product meets Amazon's criteria. A laboratory accredited by the World Anti-Doping Association (WADA) or ISO/IEC 17025 accredited laboratory must issue your C.O.A for it to be valid. This Certificate of Analysis will need to be submitted once per year to Amazon to make sure that your products are compliant. BSCG can handle all of you testing needs for these compounds.