Investigators have found that nearly all of the herbal dietary supplements tested in a Congressional investigation included amounts of lead and other contaminants.
This report, which was prepared by the Government Accountability Office, was provided to The New York Times and made available to the public at a Senate hearing on Wednesday.
From NYTimes.com:
Travis T. Tygart, chief executive of the United States Anti-Doping Agency, wrote a letter to the committee saying that some athletes have been rendered ineligible for international competitions because they took supplements that contained steroids not listed on the products’ labels. There are thousands of supplements available for sale that contain steroids or other harmful ingredients, he wrote.
“The F.D.A. is operating in a regulatory environment that is simply too burdensome to allow for effective post-market regulation of these products,” Mr. Tygart wrote.
Half of the nation’s adult population takes vitamin supplements regularly, and about a quarter take herbal supplements at least occasionally. Annual sales are about $25 billion a year, and the growing popularity has led to an increasing number of imported supplements spiked with illegal drugs.
In 1994, Congress passed legislation that allowed supplement makers to sell products without first getting approval from the F.D.A. for their ingredients or for basic health claims. But scientific organizations have warned repeatedly since then that the F.D.A. should do more to ensure that the supplements are safe and that their health claims are substantiated.
Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein, principal deputy commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, said that FDA had increased enforcement actions against supplements spiked with prescription drugs.
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