What It Takes to Earn the NASC Quality Seal for Animal Health & Nutrition Supplements

Last updated: May 2026

Most Affected Breeds: All breeds; quality matters for every dog.

The pet supplement industry is booming — and largely unregulated. That means any company can put a product on a shelf, make bold claims about what it does for your dog, and face almost no mandatory verification process before it reaches your hands.

That's exactly why third-party quality standards matter. And when it comes to animal health supplements, the NASC Quality Seal is one of the most meaningful signals you can look for.

What Is the NASC?

The National Animal Supplement Council (NASC) is a nonprofit industry group that has worked for over two decades to establish and uphold quality and safety standards for animal health supplements. It collaborates with the FDA and USDA and acts as a self-regulatory body for companies that want to demonstrate a higher standard of manufacturing and transparency.

Earning the NASC Quality Seal is not automatic. It's not a paid badge. It's a rigorous, audit-based certification that requires ongoing compliance — not a one-time checkbox.

What It Takes to Earn the NASC Quality Seal

The process to earn the seal is thorough by design. Here's what companies are required to do:

1. Become an Approved NASC Member

Before any audit begins, a company must apply for NASC membership and sign the NASC Member Accountability Guidelines. Membership signals a baseline commitment to the council's standards — but it's only the starting point.

2. Pass a Third-Party Facility Audit

The heart of the certification is a comprehensive facility and documentation audit conducted by the NASC Compliance Team. This process can take up to four months and covers:

• Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs)
• Raw material sourcing and testing
• Quality control procedures at every stage of production
• Packaging and labeling compliance
• Claims review — ensuring no unverified or misleading statements

Companies must show proven, documented procedures — not just intent. The audit covers the full chain from ingredient sourcing to finished product.

3. Maintain an Adverse Event Reporting System

NASC-certified companies are required to maintain a system for tracking and reporting adverse events — meaning if a dog has a negative reaction to a product, there is a documented process for capturing and responding to that information. This kind of accountability is rare in the unregulated supplement space.

4. Comply with Label Requirements

Labels must meet NASC's specific standards for claims, ingredients, and disclaimers. No making promises that can't be substantiated. No hiding behind vague marketing language.

5. Re-Audit Every Two Years

The seal doesn't last forever. Every certified company must go through the full audit process again every two years to remain compliant. If the Compliance Team finds issues during an audit, the company has 60 days to demonstrate corrective action — or risk losing certification entirely.

Why This Matters: The Supplement Industry Is Largely Unregulated

Unlike human pharmaceuticals or even pet food (which is governed by AAFCO guidelines and FDA oversight), the pet supplement category has no mandatory federal pre-market approval process. That creates an environment where low-quality or misleading products can easily reach consumers.

The NASC seal exists to fill that gap. When you see it, you know the company behind the product has:

• Opened their facility and processes to independent scrutiny
• Demonstrated compliance with Good Manufacturing Practices
• Committed to transparent labeling and honest claims
• Built a system to monitor and respond to adverse events

That's not a low bar. Most supplement brands on the market haven't cleared it.

What to Look for on a Supplement Label

When evaluating any supplement for your dog, here are the quality markers worth checking:

• NASC Quality Seal: Third-party audited. One of the strongest quality signals in the pet supplement space.
• AAFCO statement: Relevant for foods and food toppers. Indicates the product meets nutritional adequacy standards.
• Third-party testing: Look for brands that test finished products for potency, purity, and contaminants — not just raw ingredients.
• Transparent ingredient sourcing: Vague claims about "premium ingredients" aren't enough. Where do they come from? How are they verified?
• Honest claims: Be skeptical of supplements promising dramatic results without scientific backing. Quality brands are measured in what they don't claim as much as what they do.

The Difference Between a Quality Supplement and an Unverified One

A supplement that meets quality standards doesn't just have a cleaner label — it has a fundamentally different production process behind it. Verified supplements go through ingredient testing, in-process quality checks, and finished product review. Unverified ones may not.

That difference matters a lot when what you're giving your dog is intended to support their health. An inert supplement is a waste of money. A contaminated or mislabeled one is a risk.

How Get Joy Approaches Quality: Starting with Belly Biotics™

Get Joy has earned the NASC Quality Seal for our supplement line — and we take that responsibility seriously. But our approach to gut-health support goes further than a separate supplement you add on top of a meal.

Belly Biotics™ — Get Joy's proprietary blend of prebiotics, probiotics, and postbiotics — is built directly into our Freeze Dried Raw Meals. It's not a sprinkle-on add-on. It's not a secondary SKU you have to remember to order. It's a structural part of the food itself, designed to support gut health with every meal, consistently and conveniently.

That's a meaningful distinction. A probiotic sitting in a separate container on a shelf — with no guarantee of potency, sourcing transparency, or proper dosing — is a very different thing from a gut-health system built into a food that meets NASC quality standards.

We believe your dog's gut health is too important to leave to chance, an afterthought, or an unverified claim on a label. That's why we built it in from the start.

FAQ

What does the NASC Quality Seal mean?

The NASC Quality Seal indicates a pet supplement company has passed a rigorous third-party facility audit covering Good Manufacturing Practices, ingredient sourcing, quality control, labeling compliance, and adverse event reporting. Companies must re-audit every two years to maintain certification.

Is the pet supplement industry regulated?

Not in the same way as human pharmaceuticals or even pet food. There is no mandatory federal pre-market approval process for pet supplements. Third-party certifications like the NASC Quality Seal exist to fill that gap by providing independent verification of manufacturing practices and claims.

Does Get Joy have the NASC Quality Seal?

Yes. Get Joy has earned the NASC Quality Seal for its supplement line. Beyond that certification, Get Joy builds gut support directly into its Freeze Dried Raw Meals through Belly Biotics™ — a proprietary blend of prebiotics, probiotics, and postbiotics built structurally into the food itself.

What is Belly Biotics™ and how is it different from a probiotic supplement?

Belly Biotics™ is Get Joy's proprietary blend of prebiotics, probiotics, and postbiotics built directly into every Freeze Dried Raw Meal — not a separate supplement. Because it's integrated into the food, your dog gets consistent gut support with every single meal, without the compliance challenges of remembering a separate product.