NSF product certification steps

Different certification schemes have different certification procedures due to different products. Generally, a complete authentication process consists of the following seven steps:

1. Application

The applicant should first fill in the application form for each production site to be listed, date it and sign it. Submit the completed application form to NSF. After receiving the application form and the certification fee in advance, NSF will assign a project manager as the project contact for the applicant to be responsible for the whole certification process and any new projects in the future.

2. Submit product information (including product formulation and / or toxicological information, product application, etc.)

Submit a complete product information form (PIF) for each product / material family you want to certify.

3. Review of product formula

Toxicologists will review the formulation of product component materials and determine which substances need to be tested for chemical analysis according to the corresponding standards. An unlicensed registered formula (URF) file will be issued to each production site and used for site review for validation.

4. Quality assurance (QA) review and product sampling of production site

NSF auditors or representatives assigned by NSF will conduct audits at each final production site. The audit can be carried out with information collection, formula review and other steps, or at the same time with laboratory testing.

The NSF auditor will inspect the manufacturing site and verify that its product components, materials and suppliers are consistent with the description on the product information sheet (PIF) submitted to NSF. If necessary, the auditor will take samples from the previous production batch and / or the current production batch for NSF laboratory testing.

5. Laboratory test of products

This test is based on the corresponding standards for laboratory analysis of products

6. Toxicological evaluation of experimental results

This is the final toxicological assessment of the results. If the evaluation results show that the product meets the requirements of the standard, NSF will issue a license registration formula (ARF) to each production site for use in future annual reviews.

7. Official listing

When the product fully meets all the above requirements, the applicant will receive the certificate issued by NSF and be listed on the official website of NSF. The listing year of NSF begins on January 1 of each year, when all column names will be updated. The listed production sites shall ensure that the products they produce and provide continuously comply with the corresponding standards and program policies. NSF usually ensures its compliance through annual surprise factory reviews and monitoring tests.