Mayway's Response to NY Attorney General's Herb Testing
February 20, 2015
In the news recently was an article involving dietary supplements that has attracted a lot of attention. The New York Attorney General issued cease-and-desist letters to four national retail chains, demanding that they provide information on how they verify the ingredients in certain herbal supplements.
Here at Mayway, we have taken quality and purity of ingredients very seriously for the last 45 years. We know that the efficacy and safety of our products begin with high quality herbs. Every Plum Flower®, Bamboo Pharmacy®, and Min Shan® product is assigned batch and tracking numbers, allowing the ingredients to be traced back through the manufacturing process to the grower or growing cooperative. Our GMP certified manufacturing facilities feature in-house labs where extensive quality control analysis is performed. First and foremost is herb identification. The scientific identification of Chinese herbs has a long history, and has been well researched and documented. Laboratory testing ranging from basic organoleptic and microscopy to higher-level analytical techniques are used to confirm herb identity. Some herbs are identified based on active ingredient content which requires more sophisticated testing. However, none are tested using DNA, which for Chinese herbs is overkill for the most part (one area where it may be useful is in testing animal parts). Our manufacturers rely on a clear traceability chain from the raw herbs being identified through their use in the production cycle, as documented on batch production records. They do not need to identify finished products, except in cases where active ingredients are crucial and are required to be identified by law as a means of identification and quality control (for example, paeonol and ursolic acid in Liu Wei Di Huang Wan).
On arrival in our own warehouse, every product is quarantined, inspected and sampled. The sample is compared with past lots to ensure consistency and is stored for future reference. Every product comes with a Certificate of Analysis which is reviewed and whose results are periodically verified through 3rd party testing.
We are committed to rigorous standards, traceability and transparency, ensuring that you can prescribe our herbs and herbal formulas with complete confidence. Thank you for partnering with Mayway to provide high quality care.
Sincerely,
Yvonne Lau
President
UPDATE February 25, 2015: Sentators Hatch and Heinrich sent a letter to the FDA asking if DNA testing is appropriate... read more
UPDATE February 25, 2015: NY Attorney General Expands Investigation... read more