that is written like an advertisement . please help improve it by removing promotional content and inappropriate external links and by adding encyclopedic content written from a neutral point of view . january 2013 learn how and when to remove this template message swanson health products type private industry health products founded 1969 headquarters fargo north dakota website swanson health products swanson health products shp is a natural health catalog and internet marketing company headquartered in fargo north dakota . the company sells natural health and wellness products including health foods dietary supplements such as vitamins minerals herbs as well as natural personal care products direct to consumers through mail order catalogs and an e commerce website . swanson health products is the united states largest privately held vitamin catalog retailer and is one of fargo s major employers with an estimated workforce of 500 employees . 1 contents 1 history 2 products and quality control 3 fda actions 4 references 5 external links history edit swanson health products was started in 1969 in fargo by leland swanson sr. a self taught natural health enthusiast swanson was heavily influenced by dr. linus pauling dr. irwin stone dr. roger j. williams paul bragg and adelle davis all pioneers in the natural health and nutraceutical movement . swanson s personal supplementation regimen began with vitamin e which he ordered from one of the first health supplement outlets in the country sturdee health products 2 the nation s oldest mail order vitamin supplier at the time . by 1968 he was a regular user of several vitamins and supplements and began ordering them in bulk to maintain his own supply . not long after he decided to test the market himself and ordered 5 000 vitamin e capsules from a manufacturer in ohio purchased an advertisement in capper s weekly magazine and began selling supplements through the mail . shortly thereafter he was putting together small catalogs of his own to mail out to potential customers . by 1980 shp was operating with about 10 employees out of a storefront in downtown fargo nd . in 1982 the company moved its mail order manufacturing and shipping operations to a 15 000 sq ft 1 400 m2 facility . in the 1990s the development of the shp website swansonvitamins.com opened another sales channel for the company . shp moved into a new 120 000 sq ft 11 000 m2 facility in 2001 finally housing its call center customer care center marketing manufacturing storage and shipping operations all under one roof while still maintaining the original storefront in downtown fargo . in 2009 shp announced a 10 million 100 000 square foot 9 300 m2 addition to the company s headquarters in fargo as well as the acquisition of a 50 000 square foot 4 600 m2 order fulfillment center in harrisburg pennsylvania 3 to improve shipping times to east coast customers . that facility opened in may 2010 while the fargo expansion was completed in august 2010 . the harrisburg facility relocated to nearby middletown pa in 2014 . in april 2011 shp announced the opening of a second regional distribution center . the 52 500 square foot facility 4 located in the spanish springs business center of sparks nv allows for one or two day delivery times to customers on the west coast . also in 2011 the swanson health products retail store acquired the business space adjacent to its location in downtown fargo nd . 5 final renovations and remodeling completed in the fall of 2011 have doubled its retail space and now includes more freezer and refrigeration space for healthy foods . with all sites now completed and operational the company employs over 500 people . in january 2016 leland swanson jr. retired and shp was acquired by swander pace capital 6 a private equity firm specializing in investments in growth oriented middle market consumer products companies . leland swanson jr. remains involved as a consultant for shp new product development . products and quality control edit swanson health products carries over 26 000 products ranging from vitamins and supplements to eco friendly home cleaning products . the company has more than 20 swanson branded lines that cover the full spectrum of natural health products as well as some otc drugs and organic foods . since 2001 shp has voluntarily participated in independent third party good manufacturing practices gmp audits to maintain high quality finished products . shp regularly submits its dietary supplements to consumerlab.com testing for a thorough third party review of product safety and efficacy . consumer lab has tested only 25 of swanson s 26 000 supplements as of 9 8 2016 . in yearly surveys of over 10 000 supplement users swanson health products was voted america s 1 rated catalog internet brand based on customer satisfaction 2012 2014 2015 and 1 rated catalog internet merchant 2011 2013 2014 2015 . 7 fda actions edit swanson health products has had a few encounters with the united states food and drug administration fda which oversees the natural health industry s marketing and labeling of dietary supplements to ensure they are not labeled as unapproved drugs . most recently in 2007 shp received a warning letter from the fda stating that the company was selling an unapproved version of the prescription cholesterol drug called mevacor . 8 fda laboratory analysis determined that two of shp s red yeast rice supplements contained significant amounts of lovastatin the active ingredient in mevacor and its generic counterparts . the fda letter stated because red yeast rice and red yeast rice policosanol complex contain red yeast rice with enhanced or added lovastatin and bear claims about lipid control and other cardiovascular benefits supplied by this ingredient they can not be marketed as dietary supplements . references edit greater fargo moorhead 2010 1 may 2010 accessmylibrary.com july 15 1991 2 may 2010 frank tracy inforum january 29 2010 3 january 2010 nnbw staff northern nevada business weekly april 11 2011 4 april 2011 frank tracy inforum june 23 2011 5 june 2011 swander pace capital acquires swanson health products business wire . www.businesswire.com . retrieved 2016 01 25 . top rated vitamin and supplement brands and merchants for 2015 based on consumer satisfaction . www.consumerlab.com . retrieved 2016 01 26 . u.s. food and drug administration august 8 2007 6 may 2010 external links edit swanson health products official website retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title swanson health products & oldid 738554953 categories alternative medical systemsretail companies of the united statescompanies based in north dakotahidden categories articles with a promotional tone from january 2013all articles with a promotional tone navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured 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