Are insects, mice droppings and pathogens making their way into your supplements? Not if they're made by NutraBio....
The nation’s oldest consumer organization, the National Consumers League (NCL), believes it’s possible and wants the FDA to take action. The NCL released a report on unsanitary wood and plastic pallets in the food supply chain. They tested wood pallets behind food distribution warehouses and grocery stores and found 10% were positive for E coli bacteria and 2.9% positive with Listeria, and half of these, when further tested, contained Listeria monocytogenes, one of the most virulent food borne pathogens. High aerobic plate counts, which reflect unsanitary conditions of the pallets, were found on approximately one third of the wood pallets and one fifth of the plastic pallets. Any company that uses pallets knows they often contain pathogens, rodent and bird droppings, insects and chemical contaminants that can find their way into products.
NutraBio Takes action: NutraBio has always been committed to the highest standards of quality, purity and safety. After reading this report, Mark Glazier, founder and CEO of NutraBio committed to removing all plastic and wood pallets from their manufacturing facilities. “If there is even the slightest possibility that these pallets can introduce pathogens, insects or any contaminants into our products, we have the absolute responsibility to our customers to prevent it.” NutraBio has always banned wood pallets in their production facility and has now taken the further step of removing all wood and plastic pallets from their entire facility, including their warehouses. NutraBio has replaced over 200 wood and plastic pallets with stainless steel, at a cost of over $400 per pallet this move does not come cheaply.
NutraBio takes delivery of stainless steel pallets and bans all wooden and plastic pallets.
Although it’s common for pharmaceutical manufacturers to use stainless steel pallets, the dietary supplement industry has not followed suit because of the high expense. NutraBio is the only nutraceutical or dietary supplement manufacturer to completely ban all wood and plastic pallets from their facilities and convert to stainless steel. The switch to stainless steel pallets comes at a cost of over $100,000 which explains why the industry as a whole is reluctant to join in. In addition, all of NutraBio pallets are stored inside and absolutely no pallets are allowed in from outside companies. New shipments received are quarantined, checked for contaminants, then unloaded from their pallets and reloaded onto sanitized stainless steel pallets before entering the main warehouse. A major concern with pallets is their use and storage without any regulation for cleanliness, where they have been or where they are going. Pallets travel through dozens of destinations during their lifespan picking up pathogens and contaminates all along the way. A pallet used one day for hazardous chemicals will be on its way to a baby formula manufacturer the next day. There is absolutely no regulation. A pallet that carries raw seafood on ice to a given destination, then heads of lettuce or apples to the next, could potentially contaminate that produce and lead to food borne illness. But that's just the beginning. City fire codes prevent pallets from being stored indoors so they end up in pallet yards like those pictured below. Pallets stored outside absorb water and become a breeding ground for bacteria, and a perfect home for insects and rodents. These pallets are then brought back into manufacturing facilities along with all their contaminants. It is thought that the average pallet visits over 200 destinations during it's lifespan picking up and delivering contaminants and pathogens all along the way.
