NY Attorney General Asks Major Retailers to Stop Selling Herbal Products

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman is asking major US retailers to stop selling certain herbal supplemental products after DNA tests did not detect ingredients listed on their labels, according to a statement from Schneiderman’s office.

“Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced that his office sent letters to four major retailers, GNC, Target, Walmart, and Walgreens, for allegedly selling store brand herbal supplement products in New York that either could not be verified to contain the labeled substance, or which were found to contain ingredients not listed on the labels,” the statement released on Tuesday said.

Schneiderman called on the four retailers to immediately stop selling Echinacea, Ginseng, St. John’s Worth, and other herbal supplements and “set forth a thorough explanation of quality control measures in place.”

Schneiderman is also asking the four companies to provide detailed information on how the supplements are produced and tested.

The DNA testing found that only 21 percent of the supplements tested from the four retailer’s stores contained the DNA of what was labeled as being in the product, according to the statement. Meanwhile, 79 percent of the products came up empty for the DNA of the supplement or were contaminated with other plant material.

“At the end of the day, American corporations must step up to the plate and ensure that their customers are getting what they pay for, especially when it involves promises of good health,” Schneiderman said.

Schneiderman’s investigation follows a 2013 study conducted by the University of Guelph that found most of the tested herbal products were contaminated or substituted.