Recently there was an article in the New York Times discussing the legitimacy of herbal supplements that are sold in certain NY stores (GNC, Walgreens, Target, and Walmart). This is not the first time studies have been done to see if the supplements actually contained the herbs they say they have and will likely not be the last time.
Here is the article in the New York Times:
New York Attorney General Targets Supplements at Major Retailers
The study was conducted by purchasing the supplements in various store locations and testing them for the DNA of the active ingredients that they claimed to contain. The majority of the tests came back negative and also indicated many items that were NOT listed in the ingredients list. Many of these unlisted ingredients were used as fillers and could also be major allergens, such as nuts and wheat. Check your supplements!
The tested and reported brands are as follows: GNC (Herbal Plus), Walgreens (Finest Nutrition), Target (Up & Up), Walmart (Spring Valley). Here is an article breaking down the supplements that were tested and whether or not the claimed ingredient was present:
List of Supplements Tested (New York Times)
This NPR Article contains an update concerning Target:
New York State Clamps Down On Herbal Supplements
Here is the 2013 article that initiated the most recent study:
Herbal Supplements Are Often Not What They Seem (New York Times)
If interested, you can see the cease-and-desist letters here:
Cease-and-Desist Letters (New York Times)
The American Botantical Counsel has a Botanical Adulterants Reporting Program that is a relatively new program that reports on supplements that have false ingredients listed. It is a report based system and updates as reports and inquiries are submitted.
Here at Tribeca Chiropractic, PLLC we use the highest quality supplements from Standard Process. Here is their response to the articles: Standard Process’ Thoughts
