A few years ago, New York State Attorney General (AG) ordered four major retail and drugstore chains including Target, Walmart, Walgreens, and GNC to stop selling several store-brand herbal supplements found to be mislabeled and containing possibly harmful ingredients.
The investigation involved DNA barcode testing of 78 samples collected statewide.
Supplements advertised as echinacea, garlic, ginkgo, ginseng, saw palmetto, St. John’s wort, and valerian were found to contain 21% DNA of the plants listed on labels.
Other ingredients found included fillers such as legumes, peas, and rice powder, non-active constituents such as asparagus, wild carrots and houseplants, and common allergens such as wheat. The report emphasized the lack of strict FDA regulation and safety standards in the growing supplement industry.
The New York State AG report brings up two very important issues that need to be addressed.
Not all supplements are created equal.
It is important to keep in mind that not all products hold the same equality standards, no matter what the packaging or label may claim. Those of us in the health industry know that there is a huge variation in what is made available to consumers.
Although The Food and Drug Administration requires companies to verify their products are safe and properly labeled, it does not have a strict approval process in place. This does not mean that all supplements are bad or ineffective because there aren’t stringent FDA requirements.
Those of us who use nutritional and botanical therapies from high-end suppliers can attest to the quality assurance practices we trust and rely on. Such practices include scientifically validated laboratory testing, ongoing third party verification of quality, purity, and accurate labeling, raw and finished product testing for heavy metals, solvents, pesticides, and common allergens.
DNA testing is not the gold standard for measuring the quality of nutritional and botanical supplements.
The Council for Responsible Nutrition, American Botanical Council, and American Herbal Products Association criticized the DNA barcode testing used by the New York State AG’s office stating that it is not the appropriate technology used by botany, pharmacognosy, or natural product chemistry experts when doing herb and medicinal plant research.
DNA barcode testing often cannot identify botanical material due to extraction methods and results of such testing needs to be confirmed through other means, such as chromatography or microscopy.
Bottom-Line:
Evidence and experience supports the use of nutritional and botanical supplements from companies that exceed standards for quality assurance.
Talk to your trusted naturopathic physician about the supplements you take to ensure they are right for your set of health concerns and have strict purity and quality assurance programs in place.
