FDA: the Majority of herbal supplements at GNC, Walmart, Walgreens contain cheap fillers

FDA believes that the majority of herbal supplements at GNC, Walmart, Walgreens, Target contain cheap fillers such as soybean powder and wheat.

The General Prosecutor of the state of new York requires GNC, Walmart, Walgreens, Target brand to remove herbal supplements from the store to their shelves after the pills are Packed, I found a strange mixture of not stated - and in some cases even dangerous components. Popular supplements such as ginseng, Valerian root, St. John's wort sold in stores under the brand names of four major retailers. Their supplements contain powdered rice, asparagus, and even houseplants, while being completely devoid of any of the ingredients on the label.

At the moment, supplements are exempt from the strict instructions imposed on prescription drugs, nevertheless, the producers and sellers are required by FDA to properly indicate on the label all the ingredients. Using DNA bar coding, the FDA was able to determine which is very popular supplements sold at major retailers are clearly violating legal requirements.

Among that fake supplements found in retail stores in the new York state attorney General's office highlighted several examples:

At GNC, the Agency has identified a number not included in the list of fillers, including powdered beans, which pose a serious danger to those who are allergic to peanuts or soya.
At Target, Ginkgo biloba, St. John's wort and Valerian root contained none of the advertised component, but instead Supplement was made up of powdered rice, beans, peas, and wild carrots. In other words, pretty healthy diet if freshly prepared.

At Walgreens, ginseng pills are just powdered rice and garlic.

At Walmart, Ginkgo biloba was made up of powdered radish, houseplants and wheat, being marked as wheat and gluten free.

The reaction of the sellers were diverse; the New York Times reports that Walgreens will remove all supplements from all stores nationwide, although this requirement has applied only to the state of new York. Walmart, meanwhile, says that, working with their suppliers, hoping to resolve the problem, Target has yet to respond, and GNC said it will cooperate, but believes that "tested all their products using widely used methods of testing."

Dr. Peter Koen, associate Professor at Harvard medical school and an expert on security, told the times that it is quite possible that in the manufacturing process were destroyed some of the DNA of herbs, which could explain the very extreme results of a study by the FDA. But, as the NYS AG's office stressed the "Lack of DNA does not explain the high percentage of unnecessary chemicals found in these products ... "