NutraBio is introducing another industry first: TRUE FACTS, an alternate Supplement Facts Panel that discloses more about our supplements than the FDA allows us to show on the label. It’s a whole new level of label transparency.
It seems that I hit a nerve last week with my rant, “Supplement brands using regulations to rip you off, say it ain’t so.” The story exposed how companies misuse the FDA’s regulations that require the rounding of values on supplement facts panels. After the post hit, I was swamped with questions and comments, along with loads of praise and, of course, the expected ridicule. PricePlow and Stackd3d did follow-up stories and I ended up spending the week responding to both fan and hate mail.
The link to the blog is below, so please read it to become familiar with the rounding scam. The story shows how the values for macros, micros, calories, Daily Values, etc., that appear on supplement facts panels don’t always match the values that are actually in the product. Since Federal regulations force us to round those values, they often can be a bit misleading. The problem isn’t the rounding regulations themselves, but how unscrupulous brands misuse those regulations to rip off customers.
After writing that rant, it occurred to me that I always preach TRUST BUT VERIFY. That’s why I started the no-proprietary blend movement back in 2001, the full disclosure concept, and the CheckMySupps.com website. I feel that if you say you do something, you should show it, which led to the idea of “TRUE FACTS.”
In the upcoming weeks, NutraBio will add an alternate “Supplement Facts Panel” to our website called “TRUE FACTS.” We will add this for each supplement we sell. The True Facts panel will have unrounded values: the raw, untouched data. The FDA’s Label regulations force us to round values on the Supplement Facts panel, which can have consequences. But with TRUE FACTS, you’ll see it all: full transparency of every micro, macro, calorie, and DV. So, if our protein has 0.4g of fat, but rounding regs forced us to declare fat as ZERO on the label, True Facts will show it all.
I’m going to take transparency one step further by disclosing the calories for amino acids. The regulations for supplement facts panels only allow us to show the calories associated with protein, fat, and carbs. But free amino acids also have calories, they just don’t get included on the label. For example, leucine, a very popular amino, has 6.2 calories per gram. So your favorite BCAA formula with 5 grams of BCAAs may claim no calories, but TRUE FACTS will show the true count of 30 calories per serving.
NUTRABIO TRUE FACTS panels for all of our supplements will soon be added to the product pages on NutraBio.com. I will also add them to the CheckMySupps.com website, so you'll be able to view them along with 3rd-party test results of all our supplements.
Total Transparency—Total Disclosure—It’s what NutraBio customers deserve!!!!
Mark Glazier
NutraBio Labs
CEO & Founder
Supplement Brands using regulations to rip you off? Say it ain’t so…
