FDA follow-up identifies widespread sourcing concerns<\/h2>\n
Although federal investigators have not publicly linked the two outbreaks, both incidents drew attention within the supplement industry because moringa-derived ingredients moved through complex plant supply chains.<\/p>\n
Waldstein explained: Salmonella<\/i> Contamination of plant-based ingredients often occurs early in the production chain.<\/p>\n
“Raw ingredients are the most common source, but they can also be introduced during manufacturing through poor sanitation and hygiene practices,” Waldstein said.<\/p>\n
Both scenarios generally need to be identified during quality control testing before the product reaches the consumer, he added.<\/p>\n
“These incidents demonstrate how failures in GMP or testing programs can wreak havoc across the industry,” he said.<\/p>\n
The outbreak has also highlighted the challenges associated with globally sourced plant materials, where raw materials can pass through multiple intermediaries before reaching finished product manufacturers.<\/p>\n
Pathogen risks can emerge at multiple stages<\/h2>\n
Leanne Bosman, co-founder of South African moringa brand Burst, said contamination risks could arise through harvesting, processing and packaging operations.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese incidents have highlighted some of the structural vulnerabilities that exist in many plant supply chains, not just moringa. [and] At the farm level, it can be introduced through animal feces in the field and poor sanitation during harvesting and drying,” he explained. <\/p>\n
Bosman noted that contamination risks can persist during manual sorting, processing and packaging if hygiene controls are not consistently applied.<\/p>\n
Testing standards can also vary widely depending on supplier and sourcing model, he said, one of the major risks facing manufacturers of products with botanical ingredients.<\/p>\n
“Ideally, testing should be performed at harvest, immediately after harvest, during manufacturing, and again at the final product stage through batch testing,” Bosman said.<\/p>\n
Product sourcing can complicate traceability<\/h2>\n
Moringa supply chains are increasingly operated through large sourcing networks or direct farm relationships, Bosman said, and the two models offer different levels of visibility and oversight.<\/p>\n
In the product supply chain, moringa powder is sometimes blended from multiple farms and then exported in bulk shipments.<\/p>\n
While this structure allows for supply flexibility and cost savings, it can also complicate traceability efforts because manufacturers have less visibility into agricultural conditions, hygiene procedures, and testing methods at each stage of production.<\/p>\n
In contrast, a direct sourcing model with a single-origin supply chain can provide better operational oversight. “Brands that work directly with farms or small farm groups typically have better oversight of their farming practices, drying methods, sanitation procedures, and testing programs,” Bosman says.<\/p>\n
Supplier verification remains a key control point<\/h2>\n
For manufacturers evaluating plant suppliers, transparency around sourcing and testing remains one of the strongest safeguards against contamination risk, according to Bosman.<\/p>\n
“Brands need to understand exactly where their moringa is grown, verify farm-level hygiene practices, review their produce handling procedures and ensure their suppliers are following good agricultural practices,” he said.<\/p>\n
He added that suppliers should also be prepared to provide documentation to support testing programs for pathogens, heavy metals, and pesticides.<\/p>\n
In response to a request for comment, Superfoods Inc., known as Live it Up, confirmed that it had temporarily suspended production of Supergreens while the company reviews its supply chain and manufacturing processes, saying “the health and safety of our customers is our top priority.”<\/p>\n
NutraIngredients has reached out to the FDA, Why Not Natural, and Ambrosia Brands LLC for additional comment. No further responses have been received at the time of publication.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
#Moringa #recall #highlights #pathogen #risks #plant #supply #chain<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
recent Salmonella The outbreak associated with recalled moringa-containing dietary supplements has increased industry scrutiny of pathogen control and sourcing monitoring of botanical ingredients used in finished products. Although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have now concluded both investigations, the recall highlights how contamination that occurs early in … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":518,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[761,785,762,763,105,765,768,780,766,767,764,769,771,770,778,781,783,779,773,782,774,775,369,777,784,772,776],"class_list":["post-517","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-bacteria","tag-chain","tag-danger","tag-dirty","tag-disease","tag-full-frame","tag-herd-of-large-animals","tag-highlights","tag-horizontal","tag-infection","tag-infectious-disease","tag-magnifying-glass","tag-microbiology","tag-microorganisms","tag-moringa","tag-pathogen","tag-plant","tag-recall","tag-risk","tag-risks","tag-salmonella-typhimurium","tag-salmonellosis","tag-science","tag-studio-photography","tag-supply","tag-there-are-no-people","tag-which-one"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/drouki.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/517","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/drouki.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/drouki.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drouki.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drouki.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=517"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/drouki.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/517\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drouki.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/518"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/drouki.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=517"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drouki.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=517"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drouki.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=517"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}