What kind of work goes into making sure Dr.Nature's product follow TGA standards?

Australia and New Zealand are known to have the highest quality and safety standards when it comes to its pharmaceuticals industry. For quite some time now, we have been part of international systems. Over the past 15 years, our GMP code has improved dramatically and we now have what we call the PIC/S (Pharmaceutical Inspection Co-operation Scheme) in which a number of countries are involved in.

Each country will then bring their own ideas about quality and their own ideas about how to apply quality. As a result, the international standards now are developing faster and faster because you got more people, different opinions, different ways of doing it. And we’re getting a consensus approach now.

What does your typical day look like as a Quality Assurance Manager?

My day consists of looking at issues and working out the best ways to actually overcome difficulties, to improve quality, to help people learn and understand and develop people. But the overall is to develop processes to achieve all this so that would include writing and creating standards, implementing procedures, making lab visits, monitoring trends in internal audit findings (to identify where re-training may be needed), etc.

Why would you recommend multi-formula supplements over a single-formula supplement?

Multi-formulas are good because it’s like a one stop shop. There it is, it’s all there for you, you’ve done it. Multi-formulas are necessary in some cases. A good example would be calcium formulations. You need the Vitamin D there because the latest research simply says for the bones to actually absorb the calcium coming in, you need a good level of Vitamin D. So that’s the combination. So you will now find Vitamin D and calcium together whereas years ago you would have just find calcium. So in that case it is necessary if you want to get the best results to actually have a mixed formulation.

One aspect that is of great concern to consumers is the origin of raw materials. How do you and your team guarantee the quality of the ingredients’ origins?

Raw materials are the fundamental start of quality. If they are of good high standards, then the product should also be of good high standards. So what we will do, we will actually look at each manufacturer and carefully evaluate them for suitability. We will then check their documentation and accreditation. Then, we will purchase the materials and test them to make sure they comply with the high standards that we require.

What is your opinion on the growth of the supplements market in the world and also in Australia and New Zealand?

The supplements market has grown for a number of reasons. One of the reasons it’s actually expanded dramatically is because it is now in many countries controlled by government regulators. So in Australia, it’s regulated by Therapeutic Goods Administration, the same government body that regulates prescription medicine. So it’s been bought up to a very high standard. So you can actually now have confidence, in fact more confidence than even a few years ago, in the quality of the products you’ve got. But also the legitimacy of the claims have to be supported. So, the quality’s improved, safety’s improved and also the honesty related to what’s been claimed in the product.