Okay, I got some more information on the Rexall brand available at Wal-Mart. Whether or not this clears anything up, I don't know, but here's the info I got.
I called the 800 number and spoke to someone at Rexall. She said that most companies used to manufacture their products based on USP regulations and would then put USP on the list of ingredients based on their own verifications of the USP guidelines. But as of January 2005, the USP decided that this wasn't a very good system, and they issued an order stating that products must actually be reviewed by USP and not just manufactured according to USP standards before they can be designated as USP verified. So Rexall removed USP from their labels and are in the process of having the USP verify their products. She said they have continued to manufacture the products according to USP standards, but are unable to include USP on their ingredients list until they are granted verification by the USP. Apparently, this process is lengthy because there are so many products being submitted to USP for approval.
I then spoke with someone at USP who confirmed the statement that the USP logo is only permitted on products that have actually been verified by USP. He also said that products that say USP in the list of ingredients are essentially the same as the products with the actual USP logo on the bottle, however products with the logo have definitely been reviewed in order to obtain the logo. He did say that he can't confirm or deny that Rexall products have been submitted for verification, but he did say that the process is quite long due to the volume of products submitted so it is possible that is the case.
I don't know if this information help anyone or not, but I just wanted to put it out there. Keep in mind that this information may be inaccurate, but it's what I was told. |