The NASC Quality Seal is earned, not purchased, and has become a credible and trusted symbol of quality, vigilance and continuous improvement.
Chances are you’ve seen the yellow NASC Quality Seal on animal health and nutritional supplements, but you might not know how it gets there, or why it even exists.
Supplements for dogs, cats and horses are overseen by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Veterinary Medicine, and in many cases by state regulatory agencies as well. But unlike pharmaceuticals, supplements for pets (and people) do not require FDA approval to be manufactured and sold. There is no law that requires supplements to be evaluated before their release, nor are label claims required to be proven accurate or truthful prior to marketing.
It is only after a supplement is introduced for sale that this all changes. The FDA and state regulators then have legal authority to review the product, its label claims, and any reported adverse events. They can pull a product from store shelves if a problem is discovered; the product is not properly labeled; or the company is acting irresponsibly. But even then, supplements for dogs and cats are typically not a high regulatory priority unless a major problem arises.
This is where the National Animal Supplement Council (NASC) comes in. The NASC is a nonprofit trade association whose mission is twofold: to promote the health and wellbeing of companion animals and horses given animal health and nutritional supplements by their caretakers, and to protect and enhance the animal health supplement industry.
NASC member companies are responsible manufacturers and suppliers of animal health and nutritional supplements with a shared vision and commitment for a system of transparency, collaboration, and the implementation of best practices, which has resulted in successful self-regulation, while also working cooperatively with the regulatory agencies. They have banded together to collectively achieve solutions that serve the best interests of all stakeholders influenced by animal health supplements: manufacturers, marketers, distributors, retailers, regulators, veterinarians, consumers, and most importantly the animals themselves.
The NASC Quality Seal cannot be purchased. To earn permission to display the NASC Quality Seal on their products and marketing materials, a member company must pass a comprehensive third-party audit every two years and maintain ongoing compliance with rigorous NASC quality standards, including:
- Maintaining documented quality control and production procedures
- Adhering to stringent labeling compliance
- Submitting monthly product monitoring and adverse event reporting
- Passing random independent testing of products to ensure they meet label claims
- Attending continuing education facilitated by NASC
NASC member companies are elevating and standardizing the industry through their commitment to quality, vigilance, and embracing a philosophy of continuous improvement. The NASC Quality Seal is a credible and trusted symbol of quality that can be found on thousands of dog, cat and equine supplements. See a full list of NASC members that have earned the Quality Seal at nasc.cc/members.
