Brand owners working with contract manufacturers must prioritize supply chain transparency in order to meet all the regulatory obligations. This includes brand owners knowing specifications for their product testing, stability and ingredients. Also a contact manufacturer’s proprietary undisclosed information wont satisfy regulatory demand. International components are too subject to the Foreign Supplier Verfication Program (FSVP) specifications.

This leads to many merchants and distributors asking themselves what’s in my products and how did it get there? The FDA is looking deeper into the matters of the composition of foods and dietary supplements. The necessary information should be on file and readily available during these inspections, and answers to the questions posed constitute regulatory responsibility. The requirement and subsequent expectation of FDA is that such marketers and/or distributors know the performance of the contracted parties with whom they work to deliver their product.

Dependent on where a company is in the process of delivering product to market, strict regulatory requirements must be met. Reviewing these requirements can help a company know what to ask for or demand. In some instances, making supply chain decisions involves the knowledge of what the product consists of, how it is made and how it is tested.

The term transparency has become vogue in recent years around product manufacturing, particularly in a contracted situation. The expectations haven’t changed, It’s just a deeper dive into the operations being inspected. Now that FDA is more commonly asking for it, the importance of this information takes on a whole different perspective.

It’s more important than ever to comply based on the increasing enforcement actions of FDA. This reactive approach is typical of industry, but we are approaching another level of compliance expectation that should bring one and all back to the table to ensure compliance. If you, or anyone you know have any questions or concerns about compliance, reach out to us here. We can not stress enough how crucial a product compliance database like HawkScanner is for supply chains or any business in this industry. From free to paid tiered subscriptions, HawkScanner has the ability to keep any merchant and manufacturer informed and notified of any active ingredients to look out for.