VIRGO announced the launch of the SupplySide Regulatory Compliance Program, the newest and most ambitious initiative by the company to ensure that all participants at SupplySide events are in compliance with important regulations covering claims and ingredients. The program includes education, monitoring and enforcement around both inappropriate claims and inappropriate ingredients.
The SupplySide Regulatory Compliance Program also empowers every member of the industry to report compliance issues in real time through the SupplySide MarketPlace App. This free App includes a ?Compliance? button that allows anyone to enter the details of a compliance concern, which are then sent anonymously in real time to the SupplySide Compliance Team for immediate follow up and enforcement as needed. The App is available by searching ?SupplySide MarketPlace? in the App Store, or by visiting http://m.core-apps.com/ssmarket12, and it works on the iPhone, Android, Blackberry and html platforms. Compliance concerns can also be reported to any member of the VIRGO staff for immediate follow up.
?Industry compliance with FDA and FTC regulations is a responsibility that we all share. It is about the entire community coming together to protect the integrity of the industry as a whole,? said Jon Benninger, Vice President of VIRGO?s Health and Nutrition Network. ?After SupplySide West last year, we were notified that an individual was promoting a banned ingredient from the show floor. We realized that our best efforts weren?t enough and we needed to involve the entire community to make sure this never happened again. This innovative approach empowers all of us to help support industry self-regulation.?
The VIRGO Compliance Team will be walking the show floor before and during SupplySide MarketPlace to look for any compliance issues, along with representatives of the Natural Products Foundation (NPF).
VIRGO has partnered with the Natural Products Foundation (NPF) in development and implementation of the program. The NPF Truth in Advertising Program has led the way for industry self-regulatory efforts over the past several years, addressing erroneous drug and disease claims made about dietary supplements.
?We are thrilled to be working with VIRGO in this leading-edge program,? said Deb Knowles, executive director of NPF. ?This innovative program provides on-target, substantive educational resources to industry advertisers.? All exhibitors will be asked to sign the NPF?s Truth in Advertising Pledge, promising to abide by current advertising standards.
VIRGO has taken a proactive role to ensure that exhibitors and advertisers comply with U.S. regulations for more than a decade, reviewing all print and online ad materials for inappropriate claims prior to running them, and removing exhibitors from the SupplySide show floor when serious compliance issues have warranted this action. VIRGO also provides compliance resources for industry through a long history of SupplySide training and education programs, webinars, online videos and resources, and editorial coverage and commentary. VIRGO has also exposed companies making illegal claims or selling banned ingredients and turned them in to both FDA and FTC for regulatory enforcement.
?We?ve been a contributor to and supporter of industry self-regulation and compliance efforts since we entered this industry 17 years ago, but much of our work has been behind the scenes,? said Benninger. ?With this latest expansion of our compliance programs, we are upping the ante, taking a very public stance, and asking all of our industry colleagues to support this effort and the important efforts put forth by our industry associations.? | 
