Natural Products Association announces first round of products to receive natural certification

WASHINGTON The Natural Products Association has announced that the first set of health and beauty care products to bear the new seal verifying certification will hit shelves in the near future.

Products from Aubrey Organics, Burt’s Bees and J.R. Watkins Apothecary have met the program’s criteria and are entitled to display the seal.

The new program, launched earlier this year, was developed to help consumers identify truly natural products amidst a sea of products that claim to be natural but use synthetic ingredients or are heavily processed.

Under the new program, products must follow strict guidelines set out by the association. Some of the criteria include:

• The product must be made up of at least 95 percent truly natural ingredients; of ingredients that are derived from natural sources.

• No ingredients with any potential suspected human health risks.

• No processes that significantly or adversely alter the purity/effect of the natural ingredient.

“This seal is a great service to shoppers who want truly natural products because they care about what they put on their skin,” Daniel Fabricant, vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs for the association, said. “With this seal, shoppers can be confident that the product is natural, safe, responsible and sustainable. From now on, when you see this seal, you?ll know it’s real.”