If you take herbal supplements you may want to read this:

[rshetts2]

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/02/0 ... lers/?_r=0

It appears that the vast majority (like 80%) of this crap is in fact, crap. Walmart, Target, GNC and Walgreens, you got some 'splainin to do!

[Jag]

Besides the obvious political aspect of this ploy by the NYAG's office, the problem is on one hand you have:

1. The New York Attorney General with no experience in this area using only one form of testing, DNA barcoding, a methodology of testing not used on extracts or finished product or by any governmental agency for herbals and which refuses to publish the results of those tests

OR

2. Industry experts, including United States Pharmacopeia (USP), Association of Agricultural Chemists (AOAC), British Pharmacopeia (BP) and European Pharmacopeia (EP).

Frank Davis, PhD, director of regulatory affairs for Regulatory Compliance Associates, said: “In my expert opinion, the allegations in the NY AG Letter regarding the results of DNA-based testing are not the product of reliable scientific principles and methods and therefore do not form a reliable basis for allegations of adulteration, mislabeling, or contamination of the GNC products identified in the NY AG Letter.”

Robert Fish, a noted expert on FDA good manufacturing, reviewed the test results, and said: “[T]he products at issue were each manufactured in compliance with federal FDA requirements, that the products contain the ingredients stated on the labels at the levels indicated on the labels, that the products are not contaminated, and that the products are therefore not adulterated.”

I work for a supplement company and we don't sell herbals and I would never take them, so i'm not really worried. I just hate the witch hunt aspect of this and the fact they incorrectly used this test and refuse to do any other tests. Most companies would perform different types of tests at separate and independent labs if there was a quality concern, the NYAG did nothing. Also the bigger issue with herbals is not efficacy but rather purity of some of the cheap Chinese material some companies buy. The GAO tasked the FDA with herbal enforcement about 5 years ago and they spent several years and millions of taxpayer dollars investigating every single company that sells herbals and didn't use this testing method and had no problems with these companies.

I really think the AG is going to walk away with a black eye on this one if they try to issue penalties or enforcement. They got their headlines and the class action lawyers will go for their pound of flesh.

[rshetts2]

Good to know that theres another side to this story. it will be interesting to see how this plays out.

[Jeff V]

I heard St. John's Wort would cure my skepticism, but I never believed that.

[rshetts2]

I heard St. John's Wort would cure my skepticism, but I never believed that.

Up your dosage

[Jag]

White Paper issued today refuting AGs claims. The AG has been completely closed mouthed about the questions regarding how the tests were conducted. If they are to take any action against these companies, they will need to prove that they did things correctly. I really hope they walk away with a black eye on this one. They should probably do their homework before going after multi-billion dollar companies.

The white paper, authored by Danica Harbaugh Reynaud, PhD, CEO of AuthenTechnologies LLC, Brent Mishler, PhD, UC Berkeley; James Neal-Kababick, Flora Research Laboratories, LLC; and Paula Brown, PhD, British Columbia Institute of Technology, refutes the NY AG’s original investigation.

[Isgrimnur]

Science Alert

Now new research highlights how hundreds of brands of dietary supplements deliver so much kick from a modest blend of vitamins and herbs. The answer is many labels leave out one important ingredient: a hidden payload of pharmaceutical drugs and experimental chemicals.

A new analysis of 10 years of FDA records reveals that from 2007 to 2016, almost 750 dietary supplements were found to be contaminated with secret doses of totally unregulated drugs, including prescription medicines, banned and unapproved chemicals, and designer steroids.

Over 20 percent of these offending products contained more than one unapproved drug ingredient, and numerous contained a cocktail of clandestine chemicals – in two cases, as many as six unlisted ingredients.

For a US$35 billion industry patronised by about half of American adults, it's possible this data could be just the tip of the iceberg, too.
...
Of 746 products identified as adulterated by the FDA, just 360 (48 percent) were subsequently recalled, leaving more than half of the contaminated supplements available for sale.
...
Many of the tainted supplements analysed in the study contained sildenafil (the active ingredient of Viagra) to boost their powers of sexual enhancement. Another erectile dysfunction drug, tadalafil, was also common.

Other chemicals included hidden antidepressants, a withdrawn weight loss drug called sibutramine, and undeclared anabolic steroids or steroid-like substances.

[LawBeefaroni]

Explains the behavior of a lot of the drivers on the road these days.

But seriously, the liability for surreptitiously dosing someone with antidepressants, steroids, etc has to be huge. Especially when you consider that so many people are already on prescription drugs.

[morlac]

Are you telling me that Horny Goat Weed supplement I bought in a truckstop gas station didn't really contain any goats or weed?

[LawBeefaroni]

Are you telling me that Horny Goat Weed supplement I bought in a truckstop gas station didn't really contain any goats or weed?

No, but it may have had some benzodiazepines and sildenafil.

[Drazzil]

Holy crap. This is huge.

[killbot737]

Holy crap. This is huge.

"Huge" as in - My penis is a toadstool now and it's going to explode because I took these weird herbal supplements!
or
"Huge" as in - I am going to explode now because the diatoms are against me and I shouldn't have taken those weird herbal supplements!

[Isgrimnur]

It’s all fun and games until the diatoms gang up on you.

[Jag]

Does it say how many companies were involved? Adulterating supplements with drugs is potentially criminal. These are the scummy companies that should be shut down. Unfortunately they close up and reopen under new names. And they really hurt the industry.

[Isgrimnur]

It's been argued however that since almost 75 percent of the offending supplements were sold online or through international mail order, they don't represent the 'mainstream' of the supplements industry.

JAMA

From 2007 through 2016, 776 adulterated dietary supplements were identified by the FDA and 146 different dietary supplement companies were implicated.

Tainted Supplements Database

[Drazzil]

Holy crap. This is huge.

"Huge" as in - My penis is a toadstool now and it's going to explode because I took these weird herbal supplements!
or
"Huge" as in - I am going to explode now because the diatoms are against me and I shouldn't have taken those weird herbal supplements!

Huge as in it laege amounts of people were fooled into using products with illicit substances in them.

[morlac]

Holy crap. This is huge.

So the Horny Goat Weed does work!

[Blackhawk]

Looking through that database, the vast, vast majority are either weight loss or sexual enhancement supplements, with a handful of muscle building supplements thrown in. The kind of things where people go looking for a 'miracle fix' for their problems. In other words, they target people who aren't too smart about what they're putting in their bodies to begin with, who don't actually do the research.

[em2nought]

This has me wondering just how "real" multi-vitamins are? I guess at least I'm only buying a big bulk bottle of them at Sam's Club for about $0.04 per pill so it wouldn't be like a huge waste if they turned out to be "not so great".