Plant-based ingredient manufacturer Better World Naturals has become the world’s first ingredient manufacturer to earn Clean Label Project Certification for its ginseng and rosemary extracts. The award follows a rigorous assessment process from the non-profit organization, Clean Label Project, which uses data and science to bring transparency to consumer product labeling.

Food and dietary supplement quality scandals have dented consumer trust and intensified scrutiny of the integrity of the supply chain, according to Better World Naturals. The industry’s effort to regain trust is being complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on in-person audits, amplifying the importance of testing and certifications as gatekeepers for quality and authenticity. 

Against that backdrop, brands are reformulating products to meet public demand for clean-labeled products.

Plant-based, naturally sourced ingredients are a good fit for the clean label agenda, but the use of such materials exposes brands to new challenges. Notably, plant-based ingredients can be contaminated with substances such as heavy metals, pesticides, mycotoxins and plasticizers, or adulterated with undeclared compounds and non-compliant plant species. 

The discovery of such contaminants and adulterants in a product can significantly damage a brand’s standing with consumers.

Clean Label Project Certification signifies that consumers can trust products that contain Better World Naturals’ ginseng and rosemary extracts. Through the certification, Clean Label Project has recognized Better World Naturals’ work to ensure the integrity of the supply chain by providing clean ingredients to food and dietary supplement manufacturers and increasing consumer transparency. The certification is important given concerns about the negative health effects of contaminants.

“We believe that sometimes whats not on a label is what matters most. The long-term threat of cancers and reproductive disorders linked to industrial and environmental contaminant exposure have largely gone unnoticed, untested, and therefore unregulated in food and consumer products, until now. Clean Label Project Certification addresses that gap by building on the strictest regulation in the US by evaluating products to protect consumers from contaminants and chemicals of concern,” says Jaclyn Bowen, Executive Director of the Clean Label Project.

Rather than rely solely on testing, which can fail to detect all contaminants and adulterants, Better World Naturals has implemented a vertically integrated supply chain called Prevent4trust. The goal is to prevent quality issues by proactively raising standards and mitigating threats from the field to the formulated ingredient. 

“Tests and certifications are an important guarantee of quality for our customers and consumers. Nevertheless, we believe testing alone cannot guarantee quality in the long term. Rather, at Better World Naturals we complement testing with traceability, working with farmers in the field to ensure consistent standards while shortening supply chains to improve quality control. The model benefits all stakeholders, with farmers getting guaranteed revenues and brands receiving consistently high-quality ingredients,” says Laurent Zheng, Founder and General Manager of Better World Naturals.

Founded in 2018, Better World Naturals is a joint venture of MITSUI and Huabao. It was created to provide quality natural ingredients utilizing a trusted and transparent, vertically integrated supply system.