What;'s in your bottle of herbal supplement pills?

11 years ago

Probably not what the label claims, according to the N.Y. Attorney General's office.

"If you are looking to herbal supplements to help improve your memory or vitality or help you to sleep, you may want to save your money. The New York State attorney general's office is asking four major retailers (GNC, Target, Walmart and Walgreens) to stop selling herbal supplements after tests found that many of them did not contain the herbs listed on their labels.

In a press release, New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman said DNA tests were run on supplements claiming to contain ginko (biloba), St. John's wort, ginseng and echinacea. Samples of the supplements were purchased from various locations around New York, and each sample was tested five times. In four out of five cases, the tests showed that the pills contained nothing more than fillers such as asparagus, rice, wheat or houseplants.

"This investigation makes one thing abundantly clear: the old adage 'buyer beware' may be especially true for consumers of herbal supplements," said Schneiderman. He added that the herbal supplements "also pose unacceptable risks to New York families, especially those with allergies to hidden ingredients."

Some of the retailers (like Target and Walmart) say they're removing the suspect products from their shelves. Meantime, a supplement industry trade group is denouncing the investigation as a "sting" and a "publicity stunt".

This latest news comes after years of warnings and recalls over mislabeled, contaminated and adulterated supplements, while consumer groups caution about risks due to underregulation of the $30 billion dollar supplement industry.

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Comments (5)

fatamorgana2121
11 years ago
Herbal supplements should be independently tested and fraudulent claims of ingredients should be punished --- I'm sure there are laws on the books already that apply to mislabeling that could be applicable. Supporters on all sides of the herbal supplement issue should agree on that.

But this doesn't mean all supplements are bad and fraught with unacceptable risks, hidden ingredients and are just a waste of money. These kind of headlines too often advocate actions that take no allowances for responsible vendors with quality products.

FataMorgana
rusty_blackhaw
Original Author
11 years ago
The undisclosed ingredients in the instances revealed by the investigation could pose an allergy risk. And there have been plenty of cases where supplements contained undisclosed pharmaceuticals, unacceptable levels of heavy metals or even toxic herbs like Aristolochia.

This investigation provides further evidence that the minimal regulation the supplement industry enjoys is not protecting consumers. It's bad enough that bloated and false claims are routinely made for their products, worse when the contents don't reflect what's on the label.

At this point, I can't see buying any herbal supplement product that isn't tested by a respected independent lab for content. I can trust what I grow myself, but little else.
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fatamorgana2121
11 years ago
Ah, but we eat many foods that have "natural and artificial flavors" listed on the label without hesitation. So playing a bit of the devil's advocate, what's the difference? ;)

FataMorgana
rusty_blackhaw
Original Author
11 years ago
There's no comparison.

I am able to avoid food products that list "artificial flavors" on the label.

Consumers are unable to avoid herbal supplements that are secretly adulterated/contaminated/don't have what's supposed to be in them, when the label provides no guidance or warning.
User
11 years ago
FataMorgana ... Ah, but we eat many foods that have "natural and artificial flavors" listed on the label without hesitation.

Because those ARE tested and approved by the FDA before they can be used.

"Supplements" - by law - are exempt from being tested for effectiveness and aren't checked for purity until a problem is reported.