Store brand herbal supplements have been found to contain odd ingredients. This recent finding prompted the New York State Attorney General's Office to demand GNC, Walmart, Walgreens, and Target to pull out their store brand herbal supplements from their stores.
Well-known supplements like ginseng, valerian root, and St. John's Wort were all sold under brand names in the four retail stores were found to have powdered rice, asparagus and even house plants - which are potentially hazardous to consumers with allergies. These ingredients were not stated on the labels of the supplements.
Herbal supplements are exempted from the regulations on prescription regulations. However, the FDA requires that labels have to enlist the correct ingredients found in the supplements.
The New York State Attorney General's Office has clearly stated some instances of these fraudulent herbal supplements from the four retailers.
In fact, the conducted tests found that supplements sold at GNC contained fillers that were not listed on its labels. Powdered legumes is one of those fillers which can pose a hazard to individuals suffering allergies from peanuts and soybean.
Gingko Biloba, St. John's Wort and valerian root supplements did not contain the labeled ingredients either. The products being sold at Target were actually concocted with powdered rice, beans, peas and wild carrots.
On the other hand, ginseng pills sold at Walgreens contained powdered rice and garlic. As for Walmart, their gingko biloba were created using powdered radish, houseplants and wheat. This is fairly troubling since the label claims that the product is both wheat and gluten free.
The NYS Attorney General's Office further stressed that "The absence of DNA does not explain the high percentage of contaminants found in these products." It also added that, "The burden is now with the industry to prove what is in these supplements."
This statement debunks assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and expert on supplement safety Dr. Pieter Cohen's claims that the manufacturing process could have destroyed the DNA of the herbs.
The New York Times reports that Walgreens will be pulling the supplements from their stores across the country. Walmart claims that they will be working with their suppliers to address the issue.
Meanwhile, GNC will also be cooperating with the NYS Attorney General's Office demands while noting that "it tested all of its products using validated and widely used testing methods." Target has yet to comment on the herbal supplement issue at hand.
