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does consider efficacy in its review process. It licenses its seal at no cost to companies that advertise in the magazine. But supplement makers must first document their adherence to GMP practices and conformity to FDA labeling requirements. And they must also substantiate all health claims to place an ad, says John P. Kupsch, the institute's technical director. Only then can advertisers sign a license agreement to use the Good Housekeeping seal. While the documentation review is at no cost, a full-page ad in the magazine costs more than $245,000.
Just four of 80 dietary supplement makers have met the requirements since Good Housekeeping developed its supplement advertising and seal standards in 1999. Most of them have failed over efficacy claims, Kupsch says. Placebo-controlled, double-blind studies published in peer-reviewed journals--such as the New England Journal of Medicine--are the only acceptable documentation for health benefit claims.
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