Walmart, GNC, Target and Walgreens under fire for selling bogus supplements
NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman says an ongoing investigation by his office has found numerous store brand herbal supplements aren’t what their labels claim to be.
Schneiderman says Tuesday that his office has sent letters to four major retailers concerning supplements that either couldn’t be verified to contain the labeled substance or that contained ingredients not listed on the label.
The retailers are GNC, Target, Walmart, and Walgreens.
The products include echinacea, ginseng, St. John’s wort, garlic, ginkgo biloba and saw palmetto.
Schneiderman asked the companies to provide detailed information on production, processing, testing and quality control for herbal supplements sold at their stores.
Walgreen’s says it’s removing the cited products from its shelves nationwide as the company reviews the matter with Schneiderman’s office.
Some key findings in the investigation by the New York state Attorney General’s Office into the store brand herbal supplements sold by four major retailers: GNC, Target, Walmart and Walgreens:
GNC
— 120 DNA tests run on 24 bottles of the herbal products purchased
— DNA matched label identification 22% of the time.
— Among contaminants identified: asparagus, rice, primrose, alfalfa/clover, spruce.
___
TARGET
— 90 DNA tests run on 18 bottles
— DNA matched label identification 41% of the time.
— Among contaminants identified: allium, French bean, asparagus, pea, wild carrot, saw palmetto.
___
WALGREENS
— 90 DNA test run on 18 bottles
— DNA matched label representation 18% of the time.
— Among contaminants identified: rice, wheat, palm, daisy and dracaena (houseplant).
___
WALMART
— 90 DNA test run on 18 bottles
— DNA matched label representation 4% of the time.
— Among contaminants identified: pine, wheat/grass, rice mustard, citrus.
___
Source: New York state Attorney General’s Office
Filed under: General Problems
Leave a Reply