It is disheartening to know that major shopping stores have on their shelves herbal products with misleading labels and in some cases filled with components not stated on their labels.
What are more shocking are the mega stores mentioned by the FDA involved in the display of these products in their stores across the United States. The unregulated herbal products market has led to this abuse of trust and the FDA has being timely in their intervention.
The mega stores involved include GNC, Target, Walgreen and Walmart. Investigation into the sale of dietary supplements that fail to have the components stated on their labels was conducted by the New York State attorney general’s office. The stores were all given cease-and-desist letters insisting that they desist from the sale of these supplements.
The New York Times first reported this case and stated that the letters given these stores had the following statement – “Contamination, substitution and falsely labeling herbal products constitute deceptive business practices and, more importantly, present considerable health risks for consumers”
The controversial herbal supplements at these stores are stated below;
GNC, Herbal Plus brand products:
Gingko Biloba:
– Gingko biloba not found
– Allium (garlic), rice, spruce and asparagus all detected
St. John’s Wort
– St. John’s Wort not found
– Allium (garlic), rice and dracaena (a tropical houseplant) all detected
Ginseng
– Ginseng not found
– Rice, dracaena, pine, wheat/grass and citrus all found
Garlic
– Garlic found
Echinacea
– Echinacea not found
– Rice detected in some samples
Saw Palmetto
– Only a sample contained palmetto
– Asparagus, rice and primrose seen in other samples
From Target, Up & Up brand
Gingko Biloba
– Gingko biloba not found
– Garlic, rice and mung/French bean detected
St. John’s Wort
– St. John’s Wort not found
– Garlic, rice and dracaena (houseplant) all discovered
Garlic
– Garlic found
– A test identified no DNA
Echinacea
– Echinacea found in most but not all
– Rice found in one sample
Saw Palmetto
– Saw palmetto found in most samples tested
– A couple of tests discovered no plant DNA
Valerian Root
– Valerian root not found
– Allium, bean, asparagus, pea family, rice, wild carrot and saw palmetto all detected
From Walgreens, Finest Nutrition brand
Gingko Biloba
– Gingko biloba not found
– Rice detected
St. John’s Wort
– St. John’s Wort not found
– Garlic, rice and dracaena all detected
Ginseng
– Ginseng not found
– Garlic and rice all detected
Garlic
– Garlic not found
– Palm, dracaena, wheat and rice all detected
Echinacea
– Echinacea not found
– Garlic, rice and daisy all detected
Saw Palmetto
– Saw palmetto found
From Walmart, Spring Valley brand
Gingko Biloba
– Gingko biloba not found
– Rice, dracaena, mustard, wheat and radish all detected
St. John’s Wort
– St. John’s Wort not found
– Garlic, rice and cassava all detected
Ginseng
– Ginseng not found
– Rice, dracaena, pine, wheat/grass and citrus all detected
Garlic
– A single sample showed small amounts of garlic
– Rice, pine, palm, dracaena and wheat all detected
Echinacea
– No echinacea nor any plant material discovered
Saw Palmetto
– Saw palmetto found in a few samples
– Garlic and rice also discovered
Source: livingtraditionally.com