Vital Health Foods breaks new ground by joining SMASA

By voluntarily joining SMASA, Vital Health Foods aims to be an industry standard bearer and a consumer guardian for quality nutritional supplements and health foods in South Africa.

"By committing ourselves to the rigours required of a pharmaceutical company, we believe that Vital Health Foods is leading the way in the healthcare industry by joining SMASA,” says George Grieve, MD of Vital Health Foods. “Our bold move to join SMASA is indicative of the confidence we have in the quality of our manufacturing standards and products,” he says.

Executive director of SMASA, Allison Vienings, says, “SMASA is delighted that Vital Health Foods has joined the Association. We welcome them and look forward to their active participation and sharing in matters of common interest as well as the promotion of better health through responsible self-medication.”

Being a licensed pharmaceutical manufacturing company, Vital Health Foods fits comfortably into the SMASA portfolio of pharmaceutical companies dedicated to producing quality medicines that are safe and effective for use by consumers.

Membership with SMASA adds to Vital Health Foods' already impressive list of accreditations. These include a pharmaceutical license awarded by the MCC which is internationally recognised, Pharmaceutical Inspection Convention and Pharmaceutical Inspection Co-operation Scheme (PIC/S) accreditation and Pharmaceutical Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) certification which is a requirement for nutritional supplement manufacturers in Europe. In addition, the Department of Health annually inspects and audits Vital Health Foods as a food company.

Worldwide, there are only a handful of companies which have applied for the same criteria for quality manufacturing standards, making Vital Health Foods an industry and world leader.

SMASA in a nutshell The Self Medication Manufacturers Association of South Africa (SMASA) was formally formed in mid 1999 to ensure this important sector of the healthcare industry has a voice in discussions which affect the health market place in South Africa. SMASA confers with the government, and its departments, as well as other interested bodies and it collects and disseminates information likely to be of use to members. The Association has a committee which focuses on technical matters, including guidelines from the Medicines Control Council, as well as policy matters such as registration and legislation. Visit www.smasa.cc to learn more on SMASA.