Third-party Certification Programs Research Articles

Prevalence of adulteration in dietary supplements and recommendations for safe supplement practices in sport.

The prevalence of dietary supplement use among athletes continues to rise with 60-80% of athletes often reporting current or previous use of dietary supplements. While select dietary ingredients have been shown to improve acute performance and enhance training adaptations over time, it is important to still consider the risk vs. reward for athletes before opting to consume a dietary supplement. Previous work has indicated that certain dietary supplements may pose risks for inadvertent doping, may be susceptible to mislabelling, could be banned by certain governing bodies of sport, or pose health risks for certain populations. The purpose of the current narrative review is to summarize the prevalence of adulteration in dietary sport supplement products, outline the risks of inadvertent doping for athletes, and highlight best practices regarding safe supplementation strategies. Analytical studies have found anywhere from 14 to 50% of samples analyzed from dietary supplement products have tested positive for anabolic agents or other prohibited substances. It is important for the consumer to adhere to safe supplementation strategies, which include following serving size recommendations, cross-referencing ingredient profiles with the list of prohibited substances, choosing quality products that have been verified by a third-party certification program, and being cognizant of consuming multiple dietary supplement products with overlapping ingredient profiles. Once these practices have been considered, it is reasonable for an athlete to utilize dietary supplements as a strategy to optimize performance and health, with a low risk of failing a drug test (adverse analytical finding) and experiencing adverse events.

Third Party-Certifications in Aquaculture

This publication provides information on common third-party certification programs for aquaculture products, mostly those intended for human consumption. The goal of this document is to increase consumer awareness and understanding of what commonly observed third-party certification labels signify. Includes some discussion of certification programs for ornamentals and baitfish.

Agricultural workers’ participation in certification as a mechanism for improving working conditions: The Equitable Food Initiative

ABSTRACT The Equitable Food Initiative (EFI) is a third-party certification program seeking to improve agricultural working conditions as well as food safety practices, environmental stewardship, and farm viability. The initiative uses innovative cross-functional labor-management teams to promote compliance with EFI standards and advocate for worker interests. Based on focus groups, interviews, and observations at five EFI-certified operations in the U.S. and Mexico, we describe how farms implemented the participatory system and the degree of involvement and influence the teams achieved. We elucidate how organizational dynamics generally associated with concertive control instead contributed to logics of collective advocacy. Theoretical implications address debates about (a) worker participation and empowerment, (b) corporate social responsibility (CSR), corporate accountability, and third-party auditing, and (c) positive deviance and critical praxis. Practical insights can guide EFI operations and other worker-driven accountability systems.

Essential Features of Third-Party Certification Programs for Dietary Supplements: A Consensus Statement.

The presence of performance-enhancing drugs in dietary supplements poses serious anti-doping and health risks to athletes and military service members. A positive drug test, suboptimal health, or adverse event can ruin a career in either setting. These populations need to be certain in advance that a product is of high quality and free from performance-enhancing drugs and other banned substances. However, no regulatory authority conducts or mandates a quality review before dietary supplements are sold. Under the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act, the Food and Drug Administration does not have a role in the premarket safety review of dietary supplements. Due to the increasing demand for high-quality, properly labeled dietary supplements, multiple companies have stepped into this void by offering testing and quality review programs for dietary supplements. Each of these third-party programs has its own quality assurance program with varying testing components. It is difficult for consumers in the sport and military settings to assess whether a particular certification program reduces the risks enough so that they can use a product with confidence. This article puts forward the consensus of the authors on current best practices for third-party certification programs for dietary supplements consumed by athletes and military service members. Also discussed are important ways that third-party programs can develop in the future to improve access to safe, high-quality dietary supplements for these populations.

Scaling up sustainability in commodity agriculture: Transferability of governance mechanisms across the coffee and cattle sectors in Brazil

A number of governance mechanisms address socio-environmental challenges associated with commodity agriculture in tropical forested countries. Governance mechanisms that prove effective in one agricultural sector are often applied to other sectors as well. For example, voluntary certification programs have been adopted by producers of commodities as diverse as beef, coffee, palm oil, and soy. However, there are substantial differences in the extent to which governance mechanisms scale up and achieve impact in different sectors. This paper analyzes how the potential for scaling up a particular governance mechanism is influenced by environmental, market, and social geographies that differ between sectors. Through stakeholder interviews, farm-level surveys, and a literature review, we examine two types of voluntary governance mechanisms (third-party certification, and sustainable intensification programs) in the coffee and cattle sectors in Brazil, to understand why the two governance mechanisms have scaled differently between these two sectors. We find that third-party certification programs have scaled up relatively well in Brazil's coffee sector, more so than its cattle sector, in part owing to differences in sustainability priorities, market orientations, supply chain traceability, and social networks between the two sectors. We also find that pilot sustainable intensification programs in the cattle sector have had more success than certification in engaging farmers, in part because they involve less investment from participating farmers. We conclude that the distribution and quality of environmental resources, markets, knowledge, actors, and networks can play an important role in the ability of a governance mechanism to effectively take root.

Summit on Human Performance and Dietary Supplements Summary Report

The use of dietary supplements to enhance human performance among active individuals, athletes, the military, and other tactical populations is an increasingly popular topic that often is not well understood. There are important differences in nutrient needs between the general public and active adults. The United States has an established regulatory framework for dietary supplements, and the safety and quality of dietary supplements can be strengthened through education, third-party certification programs, and increased attention to serious adverse event reporting. This summary highlights these key issues, as well as research needs, areas for future consideration, and other topics that were discussed during the Human Performance and Dietary Supplements Summit, heldAugust 9 to 10, 2012, in Bethesda, Maryland. Nutr Today. 2014;49(1):7Y15 The use of dietary supplements to enhance human performance among athletes, the military, and other tactical populations is an increasingly popular topic that often is not well understood. To review the evidence base and discuss key issues, the National Strength and Conditioning Association, National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements, the American Society for Nutrition, and the EAS Academy hosted a Human Performance and Dietary Supplements Summit August 9 to 10, 2012, in Bethesda, Maryland (Table 1). More than 200 professionals from the medical, nutrition, and athletic performance fields, as well as the military, participated in the summit. This summary highlights the key topics covered, research needs, future study considerations, and discussion points as presented at the summit, without further elaboration. N T

Lead Concentrations and Labeling of New Paint in Cameroon

In spite of the availability of substitutes for lead compounds used in paints, manufacturers continue to produce these paints for decorative and industrial applications. We report here on the concentration of lead in new paint sold in Cameroon and provide a summary of labeling practices on paints available in the country, based on a market survey. Investigators visited 76 retail and wholesale paint suppliers in Cameroon to collect information from paint product labels and to collect samples of paints to analyze for lead content. Only 8.5% of paints had labels identifying any of the ingredients, and none of the lead paints included any warning language. Based on a convenience sample (weighted to include multiple colors from the most common brands), 61 mostly enamel paints were purchased from retail outlets and analyzed for lead content (median: 2150 ppm; range: <21–500,000 ppm). Sixty-six percent of the new paint samples had concentrations exceeding the U.S. standard of 90 ppm total lead. All but one of the samples with lead concentrations greater than 90 ppm were also greater than 600 ppm. The largest manufacturer in the country—Seigneurie, a subsidiary of the U.S.-based company PPG—had significant lead concentrations in 9 out of 22 (41%) paints tested. There is an immediate need to adopt mandatory standards to limit the lead content of paint manufactured, imported, and sold in the country. To promote safer paint products we recommend the development of a third-party certification program for paints without added lead. These recommendations are consistent with the objectives of the Global Alliance to Eliminate Lead Paint established under the auspices of the United Nations to address this problem on a global scale.

The Five Freedoms in the global animal agriculture market: Challenges and achievements as opportunities

This review intends to bring an overview of relevant challenges and accomplishments surrounding the farm animal welfare fi eld and identify gaps that, when fulfi lled, may lead to positive outcomes in the present, but especially for the future of the pork and poultry industries. It is not new to animal agriculture sectors, governments, animal protection organizations, and consumers that animal welfare concerns surrounding current industrialized animal production systems have increased within the last decade. Globalization, international trade, and dramatic increases in the demand for animal protein for decades to come may magnify these concerns from both practical and ethical perspectives and thus create a need for objective debates. Within this global scenario, a major challenge for all parties ought to be implementing a “clean, green, and ethical” animal agriculture, while guaranteeing that food is produced under high animal welfare standards. Sound and objective science must be the basis for establishing on-farm and slaughter standards seeking to promote better animal welfare. Currently, integrating these standards and guidelines may not be a priority for a cluster of leaders in animal production and even for policymakers, as changes are usually associated with signifi cant fi nancial and time investments. Hence, resistance arising from this confl ict may weaken opportunities for forthcoming implementation of science-based welfare-friendly production and slaughter practices. Some progress toward improving animal welfare has been observed in situations which these standards are either legislated, verifi ed under a third-party certifi cation program, or are a trade barrier by the importing market where the priority is likely economic benefi t (Promar International, 2008; Centner, 2010; Rayment et al., 2010). Direct enforcement and application of penalties for nonconformance to legislated animal care and treatment standards and policies may also be a challenge due to costs of putting infrastructure changes (building or retrofi tting) into practice and the lack of resources and trained professionals (Promar International, 2008; Rayment et al., 2010). Thus, in the authors’ opinions, one of the greatest challenges facing the scientifi c communities in the upcoming decades will be to uncover solutions while reconciling the need to safeguard animal welfare within a sustainable farm animal production system, and considering public and governmental deliberations for ethical treatment of animals. The readiness to overcome these challenges is highly dependent upon consideration of societal moral and ethical values and their infl uences in driving political and economic policy amendments in countries leading animal production. Two distinct economic and socio-political nations’ categories, that may or may not refl ect consumer general principles and concepts toward animal welfare, are witnessed globally. One category consists of industrialized developed countries, which are featured by a population that spends a minor portion of its household income on food, The Five Freedoms in the global animal agriculture market: Challenges and achievements as opportunities

Transparency and Business in International Law — Governance between Norm and Technique

This essay considers transparency and business in international law as a matter of the dynamic tension between norm and technique in the management of systems and the masses of the population they serve. It is divided into two parts. After this Introduction, Part II critically examines transparency in international and transnational regulatory and governance regimes. It considers both hard and soft law frameworks. Section II. A considers public sources of transparency regulation, concentrating on two: the OECD framework and the recently endorsed Guiding Principles of Business and Human Rights. Sections II.B through II.D examine transparency and governance beyond the state, considering (i) hybrid governance efforts represented by the ISO and Global Compact systems (Section II.B), (ii) private third party non-corporate governance regimes represented by the GRI and third-party certification programs (Section II.C), and (iii) private corporate governance transparency regimes (Section II.D). Part III then examines transparency in action. Part III.A explores environmental disclosure by BP before and after the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill of 2010. Section III.B examines Apple, Inc.’s transparency efforts in the context of managing the labor issues of its supply chains. Section III.C critically examines transparency as regulation and action within the framework developed in this Introduction, focusing particularly on the way in which the characteristics of transparency as norm, technique and property fundamentally shape both its character and the parameters within which reform is possible.

Globalization, Food Quality and Labor: The Case of Grape Production in North-Eastern Brazil

This article investigates the consequences of the production of table grapes for export to corporate supermarkets in the global North on labor in a region of the Brazilian North-east. This production is destined to meet the growing demand for year-round food marketed as quality food. Quality food is required by supermarket chains to increase competitiveness and is guaranteed through third-party certification programs. Despite claims that certification not only maintains product quality but also safeguards the use of labor, the study demonstrates that the global production of quality grapes engenders negative consequences for workers. Laborers work longer for less pay, perform more sophisticated tasks, are employed mostly through temporary contracts, and experience new and more advanced forms of control. Additionally, the article illustrates the ways in which other salient actors, such as global food retailers, brokers and firms, operate in regard to labor and quality grape production. It is concluded that, despite various claims about the objectives of certification programs, the actual use of the certification processes at the local level does not translate immediately into better labor relations in the global South.

Review: Lead Exposure in Battery Manufacturing and Recycling in Developing Countries and Among Children in Nearby Communities

The battery industry is the largest consumer of lead, using an estimated 80% of the global lead production. The industry is also rapidly expanding in emerging market countries. A review of published literature on exposures from lead-acid battery manufacturing and recycling plants in developing countries was conducted. The review included studies from 37 countries published from 1993 to 2010 and excluded facilities in developed countries, such as the United States and those in Western Europe, except for providing comparisons to reported findings. The average worker blood lead level (BLL) in developing countries was 47 μg/dL in battery manufacturing plants and 64 μg/dL in recycling facilities. Airborne lead concentrations reported in battery plants in developing countries averaged 367 μg/m3, which is 7-fold greater than the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration's 50 μg/m3 permissible exposure limit. The geometric mean BLL of children residing near battery plants in developing countries was 19 μg/dL, which is about 13-fold greater than the levels observed among children in the United States. The blood lead and airborne lead exposure concentrations for battery workers were substantially higher in developing countries than in the United States. This disparity may worsen due to rapid growth in lead-acid battery manufacturing and recycling operations worldwide. Given the lack of regulatory and enforcement capacity in most developing countries, third-party certification programs may be the only viable option to improve conditions.

An Analysis of Variation in the Energy-Related Environmental Impacts of LEED Certified Buildings

The US Green Building Council's (USGBC) LEED guidelines have become the dominant third-party certification program for “green” buildings in the US. Given that buildings use 37% of all energy and 68% of all electricity while contributing substantially to air emission, waste generation, and water consumption issues in the US, one of LEED's purposes is to address the environmental impacts of energy use in buildings. This research analyzes (1) how well the LEED guidelines measure these impacts and (2) which parameters create the most variation among these impacts. Environmental impacts here refer to emissions of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, mercury, and particulate matter (PM10); solid waste; nuclear waste; and water consumption. Using data from the US Department of Energy, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the US EPA Energy Star program, and the USGBC, among others, models using Monte Carlo analysis were created to simulate the range of impacts of LEED-certified buildings. Various metrics and statistics were calculated to highlight the significance of variation in these impacts. Future research needs and implications of the results for LEED version 3.0 are also discussed.