Purity+Potency+Integrity = Safety and Efficacy
Gaia Herbs is committed to providing the highest-quality herbal supplements as well as providing
proof of the purity, potency and integrity of those products. Recently, the New York Attorney
General tested numerous store-brand supplements and found that the products contained
unverifiable and/or undisclosed ingredients. The findings illuminate ongoing issues of traceability
and transparency of brands that do not uphold the standards established by the Food and Drug
Administration.
Gaia Herbs is committed to quality assurance, accountability and complete transparency of our
products and upholding and exceeding the standards of the FDA. We have a steadfast
dedication to the purity of each herb and we use proven science to meticulously validate our
herbs. The meticulous attention our scientists devote to the entire process allows us to share
complete transparency with our customers through MeetYourHerbs®.
Since 2010, Gaia’s MeetYourHerbs® platform—the traceability program that provides the
regional origin, harvest story and quality test results of the company’s herbal ingredients and
finished products—has provided consumers with complete transparency and the proof they
deserve to assure them of the safety and efficacy of their herbal supplements. For the first time in
the history of the supplement industry, a manufacturer provided the evidence to create trust
through tangible proof, and in the process removed any doubt or emotional subjectivity. The data
MeetYourHerbs® provides show that—every step of the way—Gaia embodies the values of
purity, potency and integrity.
“It’s indefensible that some companies are mislabeling their products, potentially tainting the
integrity of the industry as whole,” said Jeremy Stewart, Ph.D., Gaia’s Chief Scientist and VicePresident of Scientific Affairs. “But the real concern is the myth that the supplement industry is not
regulated. This is far from the case. The entire industry is held accountable to GMP (Good
Manufacturing Practices) by the Food and Drug Administration, including verification of the
identity, strength, quality and purity of each supplement…but Gaia Herbs goes beyond those
minimum standards.
“We have a steadfast dedication to the purity of each herb and we use science to meticulously
validate our herbs, not just after production but throughout the process. It’s essentially what
makes Gaia different. We start with DNA identity verification on all raw materials before we even
consider putting them through the manufacturing process. It’s a method of purity and integrity that
equates to potency and safety. The meticulous attention our scientists devote to the entire
process allows us to share complete transparency with our customers through MeetYourHerbs®.
We do need industry-wide quality assurance measures that go beyond the occasional regulated
testing so shoppers can have confidence in herbal supplements. But at Gaia, we’re already there.”
Ensuring compliance from seed to shelf is a major undertaking, but it remains the highest priority
for Gaia CEO and Founder Ric Scalzo and his team. The evolution of an industry-leading quality
platform never ends and the Gaia science team sets the standard for the industry in quality and
integrity.
Gaia is regulated by the FDA and adheres to the agency’s Current Good Manufacturing
Practices. The company and its 350-acre farm are Certified Organic by Oregon Tilth, and Gaia
conducts independent audits of all facilities, suppliers and partners. Driven by the mission, vision
and values, Gaia has always taken every step possible to ensure safety and efficacy, and that
information is openly shared with consumers. Each product contains a code that, when entered
on the Gaia website, shares every test conducted on the herbs in that product—from seed to
shelf, right down to the signatures of the quality assurance team members who verified the test
results.
Gaia, as a market leader in the Natural Products Industry, is using this as an opportunity to
encourage consumers to make informed buying choices. By questioning the purity, potency, and
integrity of the products they purchase, consumers can protect themselves from potentially
harmful adulterants and use their own buying power to take a stand against low-quality
supplements.
About Gaia’s DNA Validation Model:
A widely reported 2013 study found that herbal supplements can contain extraneous ingredients.
In many of those cases, the additional substances were legitimate fillers that are used to form the
base of a capsule, tablet or extract. However, by the time a formula becomes a finished product,
the DNA can be altered, even though its efficacy or safety hasn’t changed. For example, the
process of applying a liquid extract to a powder will destroy the DNA and make it nearly
impossible to distinguish ingredients. This is another reason Gaia employs additional testing
methods, the results of which are available to the public via MeetYourHerbs®.
DNA validation is a valuable technology, but testing products without knowing how they were
manufactured can yield incorrect and inaccurate information. Gaia’s DNA validation model
considers all of these nuances. The model is so pioneering that Gaia’s chief scientists were the
only Natural Products Industry representatives invited to speak at the annual gathering of the U.S.
Pharmacopeial Convention (USP), the scientific nonprofit organization that sets standards for the
identity, strength, quality and purity of medicines, food ingredients and dietary supplements
manufactured, distributed and consumed worldwide. USP’s drug standards are enforceable in the
United States by the Food and Drug Administration, and these standards are used in more than
140 countries.
About Gaia Herbs:
Gaia Herbs is the leading herbal brand in North America with more than 200 liquid extracts,
TM
functional powders, teas, and patented Liquid Phyto-Caps . We cultivate health and well-being
by stewarding sustainable relationships between plants and people. And our steadfast dedication
to quality and integrity is unparalleled and meticulously proven by science, including pioneering
DNA validation models for each herb. We use only organic methods to cultivate more than 6.5
million plants each year on our farms in the US and Costa Rica and that same organic approach
continues through manufacture using patented technology to achieve the highest efficacy of each
herb, validated by our scientists throughout the process. This method of purity, integrity, and
potency and our seed to shelf commitment ensures the highest quality and allows us to share
complete transparency through MeetYourHerbs®, the industry’s only traceability program. Our
desire to nurture healthy connections with nature extends beyond our herbs through GaiaCares,
which champions environmental and social sustainability on our farm and worldwide.