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Dietary Supplement Laboratory Quality Assurance Program (DSQAP) Consortium

Summary

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS), revitalized the Dietary Supplement Laboratory Quality Assurance Program (DSQAP) to support the measurement needs of the dietary supplements community through formation of a Consortium. The DSQAP Consortium brings together stakeholders to identify and address measurement and standards needs related to dietary supplements and provides an opportunity for dietary supplements testing laboratories to improve comparability of their measurements, as well as for NIST to assess community needs for reference materials, workshops, and other measurement services. 

BECOME A MEMBER

Description

Montage of photographs showing brewed green tea, filled capsules resting on a ginkgo leaf, seaweed, and ginsing roots, powder, and leaves.
Credit: Canva stock

The objective of the DSQAP Consortium is to develop and evaluate measurement methods and standards to support quality and safety for the dietary supplement testing community. Approximately 75% of the U.S. population takes dietary supplements, including vitamins and mineral supplements, representing an annual expenditure of more than $20 billion USD. Regulations, driven by reported cases of inaccurate labeling, adulteration, contamination (with pesticides, heavy metals, or toxic botanicals), and drug interactions, are now in place that require manufacturers to evaluate the identity, purity, and composition of their ingredients and finished products. The plethora of unique products on the market has led to an uptick in published methods but limited outlets for external method evaluation and validation.

CONSORTIUM GOALS

The focus of this Consortium is to evaluate and standardize methods to characterize and quantify nutrients, marker compounds, and/or contaminants in dietary supplement ingredients and finished products, improving overall comparability within the community and enabling organizations that join the Consortium (“Consortium Members”) to improve the accuracy and precision of their own, internal measurements. The Consortium will organize at least two interlaboratory exercises annually based on candidate reference materials and/or commercial products with the following goals:

  • Evaluate the suitability of current published methods, including standard methods, to measure nutrients, marker compounds, and/or contaminants in dietary supplement ingredients and finished products.
  • Utilize common materials to collect reproducibility data in support of measurement assurance and standards development.
  • Propose tests(s) that can be standardized through the AOAC International or similar consensus process, using outcomes from Consortium efforts as a foundation.
  • Evaluate the applicability of current reference materials for dietary supplement ingredient and finished product testing. If needed, develop new reference materials to support advancement of the dietary supplement testing industry.

No proprietary information will be shared as part of the Consortium. Contributions of materials to be used as interlaboratory study samples, such as dietary supplement ingredients or products, are highly encouraged.

For more information about pre-consortium DSQAP activities, including historical studies, reports, workshops, and other information, please visit this page.

CONSORTIUM MODEL
  • Convenes industry, academia, and government to identify and address measurement and standards needs 
  • Enables members to work with NIST to develop measurement solutions and standards
  • Leverages NIST expertise in measurement science, standards development, reference materials, technology development, and basic research
  • Collaborates with related programs at other federal agencies 
WHY NIST
  • Cross-disciplinary expertise in physical, information, chemical, and biological sciences
  • As a non-regulatory agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce, NIST does not impose standards; standards are accepted by consensus
  • Neutral convener for industry, standards development organizations, federal labs, universities, public workshops, and interlaboratory testing
Created January 22, 2025