ABC-AHP-NCNPR Botanical Adulterants Prevention Program Receives NutraIngredients-USA Editors Award for Industry Initiative of the Year

AUSTIN, Texas, June 04, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

NutraIngredients-USA has presented its 2019 Editors Award for Industry Initiative of the Year to the ABC-AHP-NCNPR Botanical Adulterants Prevention Program (BAPP), an international consortium dedicated to research and education to prevent industry use of adulterated and fraudulent botanical raw materials, botanical extracts, and essential oils.

The NutraIngredients-USA Awards are organized by NutraIngredients-USA.com, an online news source for the supplement, health, and nutrition industries, and are now in their second year. The Editors Award for Industry Initiative of the Year celebrates initiatives that improve quality, transparency, consumer confidence, and trust in the dietary supplement industry.

According to NutraIngredients-USA: “BAPP is an exemplary educational resource about adulteration in the botanical supply chain, with its growing body of peer-reviewed literature, laboratory guidance documents, bulletins, and newsletters.”

The Botanical Adulteration Prevention Program is a partnership among three leading nonprofit groups: the American Botanical Council (ABC), the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia (AHP), and the National Center for Natural Products Research (NCNPR) at the University of Mississippi. Initiated in 2010, with its first publications released in 2011, BAPP has focused on educating herb and natural product industry members to identify unethical sellers of adulterated and fraudulent raw botanical materials, botanical extracts, and essential oils. This is achieved via the publication of 50 (to date) credible and authoritative peer-reviewed documents; plus interviews with trade media; speeches at industry, scientific and professional conferences; and direct consultation with members of the industry.

In addition to the three BAPP partners, the program is an international consortium of nonprofit professional organizations, analytical laboratories, research centers, industry trade associations, industry members, and other parties with interest in herbs and medicinal plants. The program advises industry, researchers, health professionals, government agencies, the media, and the public about the various challenges related to adulterated botanical ingredients sold in commerce. To date, more than 200 US and international parties have financially supported or otherwise endorsed the program.

Stefan Gafner, PhD, chief science officer of ABC and technical director of BAPP, said: “This award belongs to all the companies, organizations, analytical laboratories, and individuals who have contributed to BAPP by supporting it financially or by allocating time and resources to make this a successful program. It is their support that allows the initiative to succeed, and ultimately to prevent adulterated ingredients from being used in consumer products."

Founder and Director of BAPP Mark Blumenthal said: “We are deeply grateful to the editors of NutraIngredients-USA, Dr. Stephen Daniells and Hank Schulz, and the other staff members of NutraIngredients-USA, for choosing BAPP to receive this award. NutraIngredients-USA has provided consistently reliable and fast-breaking coverage of our many peer-reviewed publications and projects, and has really helped to forward the vitally needed educational mission of BAPP.”

The award was presented to ABC Development Director Denise Meikel at the NutraIngredients-USA Award Reception on June 3, 2019, in New Orleans, Louisiana, during the Institute for Food Technology’s 2019 Food Expo.

According to Meikel: “The NutraIngredients-USA award ceremony was lovely and well-attended by the many nominees and award winners. It was an honor to accept this meaningful award on behalf of the BAPP partners and the many supporters worldwide of this unique program.”

The full coverage of the awards can be found in the NutraIngredients-USA announcement article.