Certifications on Supplement Labels
0.6% of on-market supplement labels say they carry a USP, NSF, ConsumerLab or similar testing mark and 0.2% a banned-substance sport mark; 2.5% use self-declared wording such as GMP or "third-party tested" (a product can be in more than one group).
Some labels carry a mark from an outside program that audits manufacturing or tests products; many instead use wording anyone can print. We searched every statement on every on-market label in DSLD for 11 kinds of mark. This shows what a label says, not what a certifier has confirmed: we do not check with the programs, so confirm any mark in the certifier's own database before relying on it.
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| Mark or wording | Kind | Products | Share of on-market |
|---|---|---|---|
| USP Verified | Testing program | 557 | 0.5% |
| NSF Certified | Testing program | 162 | 0.1% |
| NSF Certified for Sport | Sport (banned substances) | 101 | 0.1% |
| Informed Sport / Choice / Protein | Sport (banned substances) | 138 | 0.1% |
| BSCG Certified Drug Free | Sport (banned substances) | 62 | 0.1% |
| ConsumerLab | Testing program | 3 | 0.0% |
| "Third-party tested" wording | Self-declared | 1,525 | 1.3% |
| GMP statement | Self-declared | 1,741 | 1.4% |
| Non-GMO Project Verified | Attribute certification | 47 | 0.0% |
| USDA Organic / certified organic | Attribute certification | 2,967 | 2.4% |
| GFCO gluten-free certification | Attribute certification | 119 | 0.1% |
A product can carry several marks, so the rows do not add up. 6,866 products (5.6%) match at least one.
Which compounds carry sport marks most often
The share of products declaring each compound whose label mentions NSF Certified for Sport, Informed Sport, Informed Choice or BSCG. Compounds with fewer than 100 products are left out, and only compounds with at least one such label appear.
| Compound | Products | Sport mark | Any testing-program mark | Any mark in this report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Creatine | 1,960 | 2.2% | 1.0% | 4.3% |
| L-Glutamine | 2,903 | 1.6% | 0.9% | 3.7% |
| Beta-Alanine | 2,559 | 1.5% | 0.8% | 2.9% |
| Iron | 8,747 | 1.3% | 1.2% | 7.9% |
| Potassium | 12,184 | 1.3% | 0.9% | 5.3% |
| Calcium | 19,815 | 1.0% | 1.2% | 5.3% |
| L-Citrulline | 2,616 | 0.8% | 0.5% | 2.5% |
| L-Arginine | 2,923 | 0.7% | 0.4% | 2.2% |
| Caffeine | 4,287 | 0.7% | 0.4% | 2.8% |
| Thiamine (Vitamin B1) | 9,909 | 0.6% | 1.3% | 5.2% |
| Chromium | 8,101 | 0.6% | 0.9% | 4.8% |
| Taurine | 3,578 | 0.6% | 0.5% | 2.4% |
Over time
Share of labels first entered into DSLD each year that carry the mark.
| Year | Labels | USP Verified | NSF Certified | Informed Sport / Choice / Protein | "Third-party tested" wording | GMP statement | Non-GMO Project Verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 3,688 | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.0% | 1.3% | 1.5% | 0.0% |
| 2017 | 5,273 | 0.0% | 0.5% | 0.0% | 0.8% | 0.8% | 0.0% |
| 2018 | 4,401 | 3.7% | 0.1% | 0.6% | 1.4% | 0.8% | 0.0% |
| 2019 | 5,787 | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.0% | 1.1% | 0.5% | 0.0% |
| 2020 | 13,152 | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.0% | 1.3% | 1.5% | 0.1% |
| 2021 | 11,658 | 0.0% | 0.1% | 0.0% | 1.0% | 1.2% | 0.0% |
| 2022 | 14,619 | 0.7% | 0.1% | 0.2% | 1.2% | 2.6% | 0.1% |
| 2023 | 17,769 | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 1.1% | 2.4% | 0.0% |
| 2024 | 15,914 | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 2.3% | 1.6% | 0.0% |
| 2025 | 13,021 | 0.0% | 0.1% | 0.3% | 1.5% | 1.0% | 0.1% |
By physical form
| Form | Products | USP Verified | NSF Certified | NSF Certified for Sport | Informed Sport / Choice / Protein | BSCG Certified Drug Free | ConsumerLab |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capsule | 43,301 | 0.0% | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Powder | 24,074 | 0.0% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.5% | 0.2% | 0.0% |
| Liquid | 20,534 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Tablet or Pill | 16,798 | 1.6% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Softgel Capsule | 9,957 | 2.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Other (e.g. tea bag) | 3,569 | 0.7% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Gummy or Jelly | 3,007 | 1.6% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Lozenge | 496 | 1.2% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
Brands with the most labeled products carrying a testing-program or sport mark
A count of labels, which favors large catalogs; it says nothing about the quality of any brand.
- Nature Made: 383 products
- Equaline: 54 products
- ALLMAX: 45 products
- Sunmark: 40 products
- Vitargo: 34 products
- Cellucor: 33 products
- CytoSport Monster Series: 27 products
- Kirkland Signature: 26 products
- CytoSport: 25 products
- BodyLogix: 21 products
- Dymatize: 19 products
- Jarrow Formulas: 17 products
- Extreme Edge: 12 products
- PS ProSupps: 12 products
- Nature Made VitaMelts: 11 products
What this does not show
- Mentions are not verification. A label can name a program it no longer participates in, or reference a facility rather than the product. Check the program's public listing.
- Only printed words are seen. DSLD records label text. A seal printed as a logo with no accompanying words does not appear in the data, so these shares understate how many products display a mark.
- Keyword matching has limits. Wording we did not search for is missed, and a statement that mentions a program in another way (for example "not NSF certified") would match; the numbers are a close estimate, not a count of verified products.
- The marks answer different questions. A testing program checks contents or manufacturing; a sport mark tests for banned substances; an attribute mark such as Non-GMO Project or USDA Organic certifies a property, not the amount of any ingredient.
- "GMP" wording is common because it is required. Dietary supplement makers must follow current good manufacturing practice (cGMP); saying so on a label does not mean an outside party inspected the facility.