About Clean Label
“Clean label” has become the food and supplement industry’s favourite promise: short ingredient lists, familiar names, and a halo of “natural-ness.” But as formulation scientist Shauna Debling argued in her LinkedIn essay “‘Clean Label’ – Is it actually better?,” the marketing ideal often collides with messy manufacturing realities. Drawing on more than two decades of developing tablets and capsules, Shauna explains why the pure-as-possible approach can backfire. Powders refuse to flow, actives remain un-absorbed, costs soar, and label claims slip out of spec. She reminds readers that every excipient has a purpose: to keep machines running, blends uniform, and allow important nutrients to be absorbed. Her piece invites consumers, brand owners, and R&D teams alike to look past the pictograms and ask a harder question—does the product work? In doing so, Shauna reframes “clean” not as an absence of unpronounceables, but as a balance of science, safety, efficacy and transparency.
Clean Label” – Is it actually better? See Shauna´s thoughts here:
I have been thinking about doing this, but I want to thank Victor Monsod for helping me get my rear in gear.
The short answer, maybe. Yes, I know it’s not really an answer. I think you will find many truths depend on your point of view.
There is a definite trend in the industry to favour “clean labels” among other things. People are ever conscious of their health and what they buy, and they should be. But what is the truth behind all of these “buzzwords”. Vegan, non-GMO, dairy free, gluten free, Kosher, Halal.
Many of these things can be obtained with selected ingredients, or just omitting other ingredients. The Nutraceutical market is driven by trends, marketing, and the next new thing. This is true in the pharmaceutical world as well where new and hopefully better drugs are constantly being marketed.
The difference between the two is that patients rarely have the choice on which medicines they need to survive or treat disease. The pharmaceutical companies make drugs that are highly specialized and highly tested. The ingredients used are chosen for their functionality and the end user has little choice in the ingredients used.
The Nutraceutical world by contrast is almost entirely a choice. You make a conscious choice to buy vitamins, or omegas or collagen, or anything else that you believe is beneficial to your health. You also have the choice to buy the dosage form you want. Tablets, capsules, sachets and stick packs, gummies, chewable. There is no lack of choice. Everyone has their preference, and everyone’s choice is valid. Marketing tries to determine what will sell the best.
I am not going to lie; I am not a big fan of clean label or how many pictograms can I get on the label. The reason is partly selfish, but also partly scientific. The cleanest label products are either just pure active ingredient in a bag and you scoop it into something to consume. This works great with things like collagen or some amino acids. However if the material tastes horrible, this really isn’t an option. So, you can put that into a vegetarian capsule. Veggie caps are composed mostly of hypromellose, that doesn’t sound too bad right? It’s a polymer that comes from cellulose. Of course that is the common name. How about hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose? Would you eat that? It’s the same thing.
The reality is that while putting a single ingredient in a capsule is theoretically possible, it is also in practice extremely difficult. Powders are filled into capsules using machines, and if the powder doesn’t let you do that, then other ingredients are required. Sometimes you can use clean ingredients. We can replace undesired lubricants like magnesium stearate with ingredients derived from rice. They work, sometimes, though not as well, and they cost about fifty times more. So, while consumers say they want “clean label”, they often still pick the most economical option. Glidants like silica that also allow for powder to flow in the machinery and into the capsule can be replaced with rice options. I am aware of these options, and I am happy to offer them as options.
I have spent 25+ years formulating products, mostly capsules and tablets and now I try to give a customer what they want.
One topic that is rarely covered in “clean label” conversations is truly functional ingredients. Every ingredient has a purpose, but some more than others. Curcumin, for example is a common herbal that is consumed. Curcumin however is highly insoluble and very little is actually absorbed by the body, so what is the point of taking it? You can take a more concentrated version like an extract with a standardized amount of curcuminoids, but again is it going to be absorbed? Using a pharmaceutical mentality, you can use enhanced delivery systems involving solubility and bioavailability enhancers. There are options with cyclodextrins, but sigh, that’s a chemical. Imagine taking your heart medication only to have most of it leave your body with a flush.
Sometimes a capsule with only one ingredient will not meet its label claim. Sometimes you cannot fill the capsule accurately, sometimes the weight variation between capsules is just unacceptable. There is nothing you can do, because there is only one ingredient.
It is important to have a uniform blend, non-active ingredients, called excipients help with this. So personally, I would prefer a product that is uniform from top to bottom, rather than one based on pictograms.
If you have questions or comments, drop me a line and let’s talk. I love engaging in real dialog. This I hope is the beginning of some thoughts and ideas I am hoping to post on my profile.
Article by Shauna Debling
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About Shauna Debling
Shauna Debling is a Formulation & Product Development Scientist at Acenzia Inc. in Windsor, Ontario, where she designs nutraceutical and pharmaceutical solid-dosage forms that meet both regulatory and consumer expectations. A graduate of the University of Guelph, as well as the Pharmaceutical Technology Program at Seneca College, she has over 20 years of experience translating active ingredients into manufacturable tablets, capsules, powders and other novel dosage forms. She has spent the past 10 years in Nutraceuticals, applying her pharmaceutical experiences to a highly demanding field. Shauna started her career with Novopharm Ltd. and spent over 10 years at Novopharm/TEVA, where she specialized in multiparticulates, sustained release, and other solid dosage forms. Shauna is also an avid visual artist—proof that rigorous science and creative expression can share the same toolkit.
Source: By Shauna Debling, Original LinkedIn Post by Shauna Debling June 2024, reprinted here with permission of the author
