Carbon-14 Testing Verifies “Natural” Claims in Supplements
In a recent publication, Beta Analytic’s marketing specialist Haley Gershon explains how Carbon-14 testing can be used to authenticate natural ingredients used in the supplements industry. As the market for supplements and vitamins grows, it becomes more and more important for suppliers to be able to substantiate claims that their products are “naturally sourced” to ensure label accuracy and quality control.
Many products claim to be 100% naturally sourced ingredients without evidence to support these claims. As the industry develops, synthetic ingredients are still used, leading to mislabeling of products and potential consumer deception.
Petrochemical-derived, synthetic ingredients are cheaper to produce and are not always easily discernible from their more expensive natural counterparts. Carbon-14 analysis of ingredients in supplements can be a beneficial tool for manufacturers and distributors to verify naturally sourced (biomass-derived) versus petrochemical-derived ingredients in their products to back up their claims.
Carbon-14 Analysis
Quality control and assurance teams have used Carbon-14 analysis for years to verify whether ingredients are naturally sourced or petrochemical-derived. The biomass-derived versus fossil-derived content of supplements can be measured using the ASTM D6866 or ISO 16620-2 standardized methods. Both standards use Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS).
Carbon-14 analysis results are reported as % Biobased Carbon. A result of 100% Biobased Carbon indicates that a material is entirely sourced from plants or animal by-products while 0 % Biobased Carbon indicates that a material did not contain any carbon from plants or animal by-products. A value in between represents a mixture of natural and fossil sources.
For more information, please read Beta Analytic’s article “Carbon-14 Authentication of Supplement Ingredients” published in Nutraceuticals Now on June 18, 2019.
Beta Analytic’s Fast Carbon-14 Services
ISO 17025-accredited Beta Analytic provides fast, high-quality natural versus synthetic testing by carbon-14 analysis. Based in Miami, Florida, the lab has extensively worked on nutraceuticals, supplements, essential oils and flavors, among others.
For inquiries, please contact the lab using this form or call (+1) 305-662-7760.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 26th, 2019 and is filed under Beta Analytic Updates, Natural Product Testing, Supplement Carbon-14 Testing .