ANN ARBOR, Mich., Oct 8, 2001 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- NSF International (www.nsf.org ), The Public Health and Safety Company(TM), announced today the first five products to receive certification through the NSF Dietary Supplements Certification Program. NSF is the world leader in standards development, product certification and education services for public health and safety. NSF certified the following products, manufactured by Nutrilite, a division of Access Business Group International, LLC (formerly Amway Corp.): Parselenium- E, Bio-C Plus, Nutrilite Kids(R) Natural Chewable C, Nutrilite Kids(R) Chewable Iron, and Valerian and Hops.

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Certified Nutrilite products will now bear the NSF mark on their labels, verifying to consumers that they contain the listed ingredient identities and quantities, and that they do not contain specific undeclared contaminants. NSF will also list the products on its consumer Web site and in certified- product listing books.

"Achieving NSF certification will be instrumental in differentiating our products from others in the marketplace," said Chris Jacques, Director of Technical Regulatory Affairs for Access Business Group. "The NSF mark on our products' labels will send a clear message to consumers that our products have been independently evaluated and certified to contain the ingredients we say they contain. Such security is vital to ensuring consumer confidence in our products, and for that matter, to our industry."

The NSF Dietary Supplements Certification Program helps manufacturers build credibility for their company and brand names by providing independent testing and certification for their products. NSF conducts formulation reviews, plant audits and laboratory testing to verify conformance to NSF Draft American National Standard 173-Dietary Supplements. The standard, developed through a consensus process with input from dietary supplements manufacturers, suppliers, retailers, health care practitioners and public health officials, provides methodology and evaluation criteria for verifying dietary supplements' ingredient identities and quantities; testing them for specific undeclared contaminants such as heavy metals, pesticides and mycotoxins; and assuring conformance to Good Manufacturing Practices.

"We've used our 57 years of third-party certification experience to develop an efficient, thorough dietary supplements program that provides manufacturers with a valuable tool to build credibility for their brands," said Kathleen Pompliano, NSF Business Development Manager. "We're proud that Nutrilite is our first customer, and we look forward to expanding our certification of the company's product line. We also look forward to certifying other manufacturers' product lines as the program continues to grow."

NSF International, a not-for-profit organization, is dedicated to improving public health, safety and protection of the environment. NSF offers a broad range of services in over 83 countries, including accredited food equipment certification; comprehensive food safety and quality systems auditing; HACCP-9000(R) registration and verification; certification for water distribution and treatment systems; certification for dietary supplements and nonfood compounds; management systems registration; and toxicology consulting. NSF also provides public-health education through its Center for Public Health Education.

NSF is a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Food Safety and Drinking Water Safety and Treatment. Founded in 1944, NSF is headquartered in Ann Arbor, Mich., and has offices and laboratories around the world.

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