GNC pulls dietary supplements from NY stores

GNC has agreed to temporarily remove store-brand dietary supplements from its New York stores, following accusations from the New York Attorney General’s office that the retail store was selling mislabeled products.

GNC, Target, Wal-Mart and Walgreens are all accused of selling mislabeled and tainted dietary supplements in their New York stores. All were asked to immediately stop selling the products.

{mosads}Though GNC said it stands behind the quality and purity of all the ingredients listed on the labels of its store brand products, the company agreed to pull the supplements in question, which included ginkgo biloba, St. John’s wort, ginseng, garlic, echinacea and saw palmetto.

According to the attorney general, of 120 DNA tests run on 24 bottles of the herbal products purchased, DNA matched its labels 22 percent of the time.

The findings in New York have pushed Democratic Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.] to call on the FDA to a nationwide investigation.

In a new release, GNC said it’s giving the New York office time to review its response to the accusations. The company said its response will demonstrate that the products in question are fully compliant, safe and properly labeled.

“GNC Herbal Plus products meet all federal regulatory standards as monitored by the Food and Drug Administration, our primary federal regulator. And there are no adverse event reports concerning these products,” the company said in a release.