The Attorneys General of 14 states are asking Congress to investigate the herbal supplement industry. The group is led by Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller and by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. A probe by Schneiderman's office discovered that many herbal supplements had little or none of the key ingredients on the label and often had ingredients that were not listed and that could cause safety issues.
"We believe the safety and efficacy of these supplements is a matter of deep public concern across the country," the group said in a letter to Congress that also urged giving the U.S. Food and Drug Administration more oversight over herbal supplements. The letter was addressed to Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas and Rep. Joe Pitts of Pennsylvania, who are chairmen of subcommittees on product safety and health.
The letter was co-signed by attorneys general from Connecticut, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Northern Mariana Islands, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island.
In February, Schneiderman's office subpoenaed four retailers-GNC, Target, Walgreens, and Wal-Mart. DNA tests of a majority of their store-brand herbal supplements failed to find traces of the plants that were supposed to be the main or sole ingredient. Some of the products tested contained heavy metals such as lead, mercury, and arsenic.
All four chains halted sales of some of their supplements. Last week, GNC reached an agreement with Schneiderman. The chain was able to show that its products were safe, pure, and properly labeled.
Herbal supplements, vitamins, and similar products are not subject to the rigorous oversight that pharmaceutical products receive. Under a 1994 federal law, supplements are exempt from the approval process the FDA uses for prescription drugs, which requires reviews of a product's safety and effectiveness before it can be sold. Supplement manufacturers are expected to verify that their products are safe and accurately labeled, but they are not required to prove it, or that they are effective.