Although thousands of people use supplements as part of health and weight-loss regimens, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is not convinced of the products' safety. To help combat the problem of unsafe supplements being distributed, the FDA teamed up with a variety of other agencies for a year-long initiative, in an effort to identify those that could be unsafe or tainted.
At the end of the sweep, 117 manufacturers and distributors were subject to civil or criminal action, mostly the results of tainted products or false marketing.
One of the largest companies charged criminally was USPlabs LLC of Texas, manufacturer of weight loss supplements such as Jack3d and OxyElite Pro. Officials have accused the company of being in involved in a conspiracy to import ingredients from China using false labeling and certificates of analysis -- and not disclosing on product labels the source of those ingredients.
The "plant extracts" manufacturers told wholesalers were in the products were actually Chinese stimulants.
The company was charged with 11 counts of criminal activity. Many company representatives were arrested, and investment accounts, real estate in Texas and several cars were seized.
"This joint agency effort is a testament to our commitment to protecting consumers from potentially unsafe dietary supplements and products falsely marketed as dietary supplements,” Howard Sklamberg, FDA’s deputy commissioner for global regulatory operations and policy, said. “The criminal charges against USPlabs should serve as notice to industry that if products are a threat to public health, the FDA will exercise its full authority under the law to protect Americans and bring justice.”
Bethel Nutritional Consulting, Inc., of New York and New Jersey was also cited for distributing adulterated and misbranded dietary supplements and unapproved new drugs.
