Our Ratings Explained
Our Ratings Explained
- SC Overall rating
- SC Value for money
The SC Overall Rating
How Does supplementscompared.com Assess Quality?
The consumer buys a dietary supplement in order to deliver general and/or specific health benefits. These potential benefits can only be achieved when both the appropriate active ingredients are present and only when the recommended daily dose delivers the sufficient concentration.
The consumer buys a dietary supplement in order to deliver general and/or specific health benefits. These potential benefits can only be achieved when both the appropriate active ingredients are present and only when the recommended daily dose delivers the sufficient concentration.
This assessment of the likely effectiveness of individual or groups of ingredients is based upon the available body of published research for the nutrient concerned. When grading individual nutrients in combination products, the SC Expert Panel has designated nutrients as having either:
- little or no supportive evidence
- some supportive evidence
- substantial supportive evidence
From this information a SC Quality Benchmark is established which in the opinion of the SC Expert Panel is the level of ingredients required to deliver the intended benefits expected by the consumer.
How are individual products assessed against the SC Quality Benchmark?
The overall quality rating awarded to an individual product by the SC Expert Panel is based upon the overall level of compliance of the product in meeting the standard set by the SC Quality Benchmark. All products are awarded an exclusive SC capsule rating between 1 and 5. An award of 5 capsules normally represents the maximum level of quality achievable for that category and is usually easier to achieve for simple product categories than for combinations. If no products within a category are awarded 5 capsules then it is the opinion of the SC Expert Panel that more effective formulations are possible than those found in the products reviewed to date.
Best Product: These products are considered to be the best in their class. The emphasis is usually on being able to deliver or to go beyond the standard set by the SC Quality Benchmark and hence have maximum opportunity to fulfil the intended benefit of the product. Ease of use of a product, and thus long term consumer compliance, is taken into account in this assessment. Value for money is not taken into account in this assessment.
Worth a Look: Products given this award have scored sufficiently highly to be awarded Best Product, but may have only just missed this award or alternatively the product may have an unusual characteristic or formulation e.g. chewable or emulsified forms, or products where an interesting ingredient has been added or where the product is highly unusual for the category but has some, but not substantial supportive evidence e.g. Litozin for joint health.
The product information used in determining the quality assessment are the details of active ingredients and recommended dosage levels advised on the pack.
At this stage supplementscompared.com has not carried out actual analyses of levels of active ingredients in products, with the exception of probiotics.
The SC Value Rating
How Does SC Assess Value For Money?
This evaluation is normally based upon the cost of providing the SC Quality Benchmark level of ingredients. This calculation is defined by level per dose, the number of doses per pack, and the price of the pack.
For example:
A. Multivitamins
Brand X : Pack size 60, Price £0.85
The SC Expert Panel´s opinion is that there are likely to be general health benefits from the regular supplementation of 100% RDA ( Recommended Daily Allowance) of all 12 essential vitamins and that the perception of the consumer when buying a multivitamin is that this is indeed being provided. As such, provision of 100% RDA of all 12 essential vitamins for which RDAs have been set is the SC Quality Benchmark per daily recommended dose of multivitamin products.
The SC Expert Panel´s opinion is that there are likely to be general health benefits from the regular supplementation of 100% RDA ( Recommended Daily Allowance) of all 12 essential vitamins and that the perception of the consumer when buying a multivitamin is that this is indeed being provided. As such, provision of 100% RDA of all 12 essential vitamins for which RDAs have been set is the SC Quality Benchmark per daily recommended dose of multivitamin products.
The pack contains 60 tablets, each delivering 100% RDA of all 12 essential vitamins at the recommended dose of one per day.
Price of pack £0.85
Therefore price per single dose of 100% RDA of all vitamins is 1.416p (cost of one tablet)
B. Glucosamine Tablets
Brand Z: Pack size 120, Price £4.50
The SC Quality Benchmark in this case is the provision per daily dose of 1500mg of Glucosamine Sulphate / Hydrochloride.
The pack contains 120 tablets, each delivering 750mg Glucosamine Sulphate.
Price of pack £4.50
Therefore 1500mg glucosamine sulphate costs £0.075
How are value ratings defined for different categories, and individual products?
Each product is assessed for the cost of attaining the SC quality benchmark. This then provides a range of value within the category from the best value product to the worst value for money product. This defines the value range.
This range is then typically divided into 5 equal levels corresponding to the ´5 capsule´ rating. Individual products then fit into one of these quintiles, and hence their value for money is defined relative to other products within the category.
For example:
In Omega-3 liquids, where the SC Quality Benchmark is the provision of 450mg EPA/DHA, the cost of providing this is calculated for all products within the category. If the range of cost varies from £0.10 to £0.55, then
Cost of between £0.10-£0.19 per 450mg EPA/DHA would = ´5 capsule´ value rating
A cost of £0.50 and above per 450mg EPA/DHA would = ´1 capsule´ value rating.