Importance of GMP Certification

Why is GMP important in India?

Errors with a product can’t all be caught in a lab. If there were no common guidelines to follow at the manufacturing stage, there would be no way for governments or manufacturers to know that every unit in a particular batch would be made to the same quality and – more importantly – the same level of safety as whichever units were tested in the lab.

So, GMP is protecting consumers from the risk that they will purchase something with too high a dosage, or that contains a certain allergen that it’s not meant to. On the other side of the coin, manufacturers following these best practices are protecting themselves from the potential liability of producing a faulty product that causes customer harm.

In the end, GMP saves money. Using these rules manufacturers can catch errors early before a product goes to market, which means saving on the otherwise costly bill of product recalls and reputational damage. Customers save money by knowing they can trust a product. Governments save money on enforcement and regulation measures that might otherwise snowball out of control without GMP to guide everyone.

What is good manufacturing practice?

Defining good manufacturing practice (aka GMP)

Good manufacturing practice, or GMP for short, refers to a system of rules and best practices designed to help control the quality of pharmaceutical and other consumable products entering the market. Not only does GMP protect consumers from faulty goods, it helps manufacturers improve their quality and mitigate potential liability risks.

That’s the short version, anyway. Going into more detail, GMP isn’t just a set of guidelines but an entire GMP certification process – countries around the world work hard to lay down rules and inspect manufacturers accordingly to ensure that they are complying with global standards. Many countries won’t allow the import of certain goods if they haven’t been certified.

Does GMP only apply to pharmaceutical manufacturers?

We’ve talked mostly about pharmaceutical companies so far — those making medicine. But does GMP cover anyone else?

Yes, these standards also cover manufacturers producing a variety of products that must be made safe for human consumption. For example:

• Food and beverage manufacturers, including those producing dietary supplements
• Cosmetics manufacturers
• Medical device manufacturers

Other good practice regulations

A variety of other sectors also have their version of GMP. For example, those in farming or agriculture will likely be guided by good agricultural practice (GAP). Meanwhile, there’s good clinical practice (GCP) for hospitals and doctors, good laboratory practice (GLP) for labs, good distribution practice (GLP) for those distributing medical products, and more.