GNC, Wal-Mart Found by New York to Sell Fake Herbal Remedies
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Four major retailers were by told by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman to halt sales of store-brand herbal supplements found to lack key ingredients listed on the label, fueling calls for more regulation of the $32 billion U.S. dietary supplement industry.
Schneiderman said he sent letters to GNC Holdings Inc., Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Walgreens and Target Corp., telling them to drop products purportedly containing herbs such as echinacea, ginseng and St. John’s wort. He said his probe, conducted by a researcher who analyzed the presence of plant DNA in the products, revealed that ingredients on the labels of some supplements couldn’t be verified, and that others contained undisclosed ingredients.