FDA Finds Majority of Herbal Supplements at Major Retailers Don’t Contain ANY of what They Claim

A cease and desist letter has been issued to Walmart, Walgreen, GNC and Target stores for for selling herbal supplements that are falsely labeled.  Due to the lack of regulations in the herbal supplement market, these companies have taken advantage of the open market and have sold supplements that do not actually have the herbs in them that they claim on the label.

Normally, all these stores deserved their cease-and-desist letters which requested them to stop selling these products. These letters, first reported today by the New York Times maintained that “Contamination, substitution and falsely labeling herbal products constitute deceptive business practices and, more importantly, present considerable health risks for consumers.”

The shysters who have sold snake-oil in the past, have crept into the supplement bushiness and bamboozled the public.

Products by Walmart, Spring Valley brand:

Echinacea

• No echinacea or plant material was found in the supplement

Saw Palmetto

• Garlic and rice were found in the product
• Some samples contained small amounts of saw palmetto

Ginseng

• No ginseng detected
• Instead, rice, dracaena, pine, wheat/grass and citrus were found in the supplement

Gingko Biloba

• No gingko Biloba found in the dietary supplement
• Instead, the product included rice, dracaena, mustard, wheat and radish

St. John’s Wort

• No St. John’s Wort found
• Detected garlic, rice and cassava

Garlic

• One sample showed small amounts of garlic
• The product included rice, pine, palm, dracaena and wheat

Products By Walgreens, Finest Nutrition brand

Echinacea

• No echinacea detected
• They found garlic, rice and daisy

Saw Palmetto

• Contained saw palmetto

Ginseng

• No ginseng found
• Detected garlic and rice

Gingko Biloba

• No gingko Biloba detected
• Rice was found in the product

St. John’s Wort

• No St. John’s Wort found
• Detected garlic, rice and dracaena

Garlic

• No garlic found
• Detected palm, dracaena, wheat and rice

Products by GNC, Herbal Plus brand:

Echinacea

• No echinacea found
• rice found in some samples

Saw Palmetto

• One sample contained the clear presence of palmetto
• Other samples contained a variety of ingredients, including rice, asparagus, and primrose

Ginseng

• No ginseng found
• detected rice, dracaena, pine, wheat/grass and citrus

Gingko Biloba:

• No gingko Biloba found
• Did detect allium (garlic), rice, spruce and asparagus

St. John’s Wort

• No St. John’s Wort found
• detected allium (garlic), rice and dracaena (a tropical houseplant)

Garlic

• Contained garlic

Products By Target, Up & Up brand

Echinacea

• Most, but not all tests detected Echinacea
• One test identified rice in the content

Saw Palmetto

• Most tests detected saw palmetto
• Some tests found no plant DNA

Valerian Root

• No valerian root found
• Detected asparagus, pea family, rice, wild carrot, allium, bean, and saw palmetto

Gingko Biloba

• No gingko Biloba detected
• Found garlic, rice and mung/French bean

St. John’s Wort

• No St. John’s Wort found
• Found garlic, rice and dracaena (houseplant)

Garlic

• Contained garlic
• One test identified no DNA

Buyer beware!

Source: Healthy Food House