Fake Supplements at Major US Retailers?

Letters from the State of New York Office of the Attorney General have accused Walmart, GNC, Target, and Walgreens of selling supplements that simply aren’t what they claim to be.

When a particular brand or product is mentioned on this website, it’s usually chosen with care. We try to look at scientific evidence, clinical trials, and the reliability of the manufacturer.

But when certain brands of supplements from the above retailers were tested, the results were surprising.

Let’s look at three supplements sometimes used by headache sufferers as an example:

First, we should congratulate GNC for putting garlic in their garlic supplements.

We all understand that in today’s economy, these supplements are probably from companies that hired other companies that got their supplements from other companies… But of course that neither excuses the retailers or gives us any more confidence. In fact, reports like this are absolutely devastating to an industry that should be providing quality products to help customers.

And another problem is that the third company down the list may change. Just because a garlic supplement contains garlic now, does that mean that it will in a month?

Although you’ve often read positive things about supplements here, you’ve also been cautioned. The fact that this study tested only six supplements from each retailer, that’s 24, and only 3 yielded unqualified positive results – 12.5% – is a very good reason to be suspicious from supplements, especially retail brands.

These results are so extreme, some are finding them hard to believe. But this is not the first study of its kind. A Canadian study in 2013 found that, out of 44 supplements, about a third contained NONE of the product that was supposed to be the main ingredient. Only 2 out of 12 companies had products with no substitution!

This becomes even more serious when you realize that some people are dealing with allergies, or avoiding gluten. When you buy a garlic supplement, and it contains wheat instead of garlic — !

And do you know what draceana is? A shrub/house plant.

Considering the value of supplements, it’s difficult to recommend everyone stop taking them altogether. But it’s very hard to recommend retail generic type supplements after seeing this.

Once again, stick with brands that are well known and reliable specialists, even if it costs a little more.

Retailers are going to have to find ways to better test for quality. It’s great that they’re starting to remove these 24 products from their shelves, but unless they can show that all their products are being monitored carefully, customers are going to start looking elsewhere.

For more, read New York Attorney General Targets Supplements at Major Retailers from The New York Times. The actual letters sent from the Attorney General can be found here.

Also, don’t miss Dangerous Supplements? from a 2010 issue of HeadWay.