The International Aloe Science Council (IASC) provides the forum for establishing and sharing best practices in the aloe business community, as well as creating common standards for the aloe vera marketplace including Asia.
Based in Silver Spring, Maryland USA, the International Aloe Science Council (IASC) is a not-for-profit trade organisation for the aloe vera industry. Aloe growers, processors, finished goods manufacturers, marketing companies, insurance companies, testing laboratories, consultants, physicians, scientists and researchers are all eligible for membership in IASC.
Member companies are based in the Americas, the European Union, Asia, and the South Pacific. The common bond between this diverse group of entities is the shared interest in researching the science of the aloe vera plant and promoting its use in dietary supplements, skin care products, beverages, and a wide variety of other products. The IASC provides the forum for establishing and sharing best practices in the aloe business community, as well as creating common standards for the aloe vera marketplace.
History
The IASC was originally founded as the National Aloe Science Council in 1980 by leading members of the aloe vera industry with a shared interest in establishing quality standards for aloe vera raw materials and finished products. The standards provide a mechanism for industry self-regulation and voluntary demonstration of a commitment to using authentic, high quality aloe vera in a wide variety of consumer products.
IASC Certification Program
Building on a testing concept designed by member companies, the IASC developed the certification program to allow aloe growers, processors and manufacturers to submit their facilities and products to an audit program and series of rigorous tests which, if they passed, would authorise them to display the IASC Certification Seal on all products and marketing materials. Companies who use the IASC Seal of Certification on their products and in their literature are assuring their customers that the company represents:
- Truth in labeling of aloe vera products.
- The quantity of aloe vera in the product meets IASC aloe vera content requirements.
- The quality and purity of aloe vera in the product meets IASC standards.
- The aloe vera used in the products comes from a certified source.
The IASC quality standard for aloe vera raw materials covers constituents such as polysaccharide content, isocitrate (also often called whole leaf marker or WLM), contaminants, and other constituents typically found within the botanical. Once certified, product marketers are allowed to use the IASC Seal on their products and in advertising, etc.
Facility Certification Requirements
Companies with manufacturing operations, whether contract or otherwise, are encouraged to obtain IASC Facility Certification. Those companies who utilise contract manufacturers should also encourage their manufacturing partners to become certified in order to defray associated costs, as this will eliminate travel and associated fees, such as an auditor’s travel to the facility each time a new product is to be certified.
Once a facility is certified, individual products manufactured there do not require an on‐site inspection by an IASC authorised auditor. Companies utilising certified facilities are still required to pay all established fees for individual product certification, and submit the necessary samples, labels, literature, etc., associated with individual product certification. However, as noted prior, auditor travel and related expenses are eliminated.
Facility certification can be obtained in two ways: by on‐site inspection performed by an authorised IASC auditor or by a correspondence audit (available to facilities that maintain current, IASC approved 3rd party certifications as well as meeting all other applicable requirements). Facility recertification must be completed every 3 years.
Product Certification Requirements
Three different methods are available for obtaining IASC certification for products: On‐site inspection, certification of products that are manufactured at a certified facility, and products that are currently certified but sold under different labels (duplicate labels).
The first method involves an on‐site inspection by an IASC auditor. The auditor will observe the manufacturing process for a given product’s production run from start to finish. For tablets and capsules, if these processes are completed at a separate facility, the auditor will also travel to and observe those facility processes as well.
The second is for products manufactured at a facility that has already been certified by IASC. For these products, applicants need to verify their products are manufactured at a certified facility and submit the completed application along with the certification fees, documents and required samples.
The third method of certification is for products that are currently certified but are sold under different labels, termed “duplicate labels”– meaning those products that are manufactured for different labelling, but maintain the same exact formulation (preservatives can differ). Product recertification is required on an annual basis.
Source: iasc.org
