What does cGMP stand for? The fact that you’ve been directed to this page only means that you have been very much concerned with the quality of your products. Not only that you find it important to provide safe and effective products and services to your customers, but you are also taking responsibility for ensuring that they only get the best from your brand.
So, what does cGMP mean?
cGMP stands for Certified Good Manufacturing Practices. This was established by the U.S Food & Drug Administration to ensure that the manufacturing process of food and beverages, drug and other pharmaceutical products, cosmetics, and dietary supplements are consistently following the set standards for safety.1 cGMP was designed to help manufacturers protect their consumers from potentially harmful ingredients or practices, as well as minimize the risks involved in the production by thoroughly testing the final product.
cGMP mainly covers all aspects of production – starting from the (1) materials and ingredients that will be utilized for the making of the products, to the (2) equipment and premises where the products will be manufactured, and the (3) training and personal hygiene of the people tasked to create the products.2 By doing all these, companies can make sure that their products are spared from the risks of unexpected contamination, erroneous labeling of packages, insufficient or excessive active ingredients, and causing health concerns and adverse effects to the consumers.
By having the regulatory guidelines of cGMP, companies can cut down on losses and wastes and the consumers can be protected from any food safety risks and harm. Aside from the United States, cGMP along with Good Agricultural Practices, Good Laboratory Practices, and Good Clinical Practices are also strictly observed in many countries around the world.
How to Uphold cGMP Standards?
Good question. Now that we’ve established the need for an organized system of procedures, processes, and documentation (aka cGMP) to ensure that the products manufactured and sold consistently abide with the quality standards, we now look into the specific measures that companies can adapt to uphold cGMP standards:
1. Product Evaluation
Companies can come up with a team of skilled workers who are mainly tasked to focus on evaluating the products manufactured by the company. Members of this team will perform various assessments on the products as well as the operations in order to identify the problems and thereby develop an appropriate course of action to address the problems encountered.
2. Validation
Documentation plays a significant role in ensuring that the company adheres to the Certified Good Manufacturing Procedure. Validation primarily works to double-check the equipment, processes, and activities done are in the manufacture of products. While this could be a broad scope to work unto, companies can start with validating the following: (1) process, (2) sanitation, (3) computer system, and (4) analytical method.
3. Compliance Training
One of the most important – and critical – resources of the company are the people working on it. Given that each individual comes from a different background, providing compliance training to all employees is one of the best ways to set the cGMP standards. Allowing people to understand the cGMP meaning and how it means to the company can help improve the operations of the company.
4. Surprise Audits
Aside from the aforementioned measures, doing surprise audits from time to time can also help in the assessment of the overall production of the company. By doing this, the company will be provided with real-time insight into what’s going on in the facility – which can help in immediately taking action with the problems encountered before these issues become bigger.
cGMP: In Summary
A lot of brands may come trending now but ultimately only those that can provide quality products and services can turn one-time customers into loyal patrons. That’s why it’s very important to partner with manufacturing companies that are devoted to following the Certified Good Manufacturing Procedures, like The Omnium Group.
The Omnium Group is dedicated to manufacturing conscious products for brands that put the safety of the products that they sell to their customers the top priority. We provide client custom formulation and development services, quality private labeling and co-packing, as well as bulk services for clients offering dietary supplements, nutraceuticals, hemp-derived products, HPP cold press beverages, and many others.
Let us work together in creating products that your customers can trust and recommend to their friends and loved ones. Contact us now to get started.
References:
1 Code of Federal Regulations Title 21 part 111 (https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/cfrsearch.cfm?cfrpart=111)
2 World Health Organization. Medicines: Good Manufacturing Practices (https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/medicines-good-manufacturing-processes)