DNA Tests Allegedly Revealed Mislabeling of GNC Products

This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.

GNC Supplements is still facing allegations of false and misleading advertising, four years after the New York Attorney General released a letter detailing the results of DNA testing on GNC products.

GNC Allegations and the NY Attorney General

Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced on Feb. 3, 2015, that his office sent letters to GNC, as well as Target, Walmart, and Walgreens, asking the retailers to stop the sale of several of their popular products. The products cited by the letter include Echinacea, Ginseng, St. John’s Wort, and many other supplements.

According to the Attorney General’s office, DNA testing was performed on GNC products and other supplements to verify that the products were composed of the plants listed on the ingredients labels. Six of GNC’s “Herbal Plus” supplements were tested, including St. John’s Wort, Ginseng, Gingko Biloba, Garlic, Echinacea, and Saw Palmetto.

The test results allegedly showed that only 21 percent of the herbal supplements tested contained DNA from the plants advertised by the labels; 79 percent of the tested products reportedly did not contain any DNA from the plants they were supposed to be made up of. Additionally, many of the products reportedly did not contain DNA from any botanical plants, instead containing DNA from rice, beans, wheat, pine, asparagus, citrus, primrose, and wild carrot.

Of the GNC products tested, only the Garlic supplement was consistently found to contain garlic. Bottles of Saw Palmetto sometimes contained the botanical, but sometimes did not. The rest of the supplements were not found to contain any DNA from the plants listed on their labels, the investigation found.

Regarding the testing results, Attorney General Schneiderman said, “The DNA test results seem to confirm long-standing questions about the herbal supplement industry. Mislabeling, contamination, and false advertising are illegal. They also pose unacceptable risks to New York families—especially those with allergies to hidden ingredients.”

Dangers of False Advertising in Supplements

As the U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not require supplements to undergo the same kind of rigorous evaluation as pharmaceutical drugs, these products may be subject to widespread mislabeling or false advertising. But the FDA is cracking down on supplement companies for false claims.

Failing to identify all of the ingredients in supplements may lead to health risks for consumers with food allergies. Additionally, some medications are contraindicated by supplements.

If consumers are not aware of the ingredients they are ingesting, they are not able to make informed decisions about their health. They can also be putting themselves at risk, as some products have been alleged in the past to be contaminated with lead.

But consumers keep shopping. Natural supplements are a billion-dollar industry.

According to the Natural Products Foundation, the dietary supplement industry contributes over $60 billion to the United States economy annually. GNC products and other supplements are consumed by an estimated 150 million Americans. GNC is one of the largest supplement retailers in the United States, earning over $2 billion in 2018.

If you have purchased GNC herbal supplements and suspect that the products you purchased were mislabeled and do not contain the botanicals advertised on the label, you may qualify to join a GNC Products lawsuit investigation and pursue compensation.

Join a Free GNC Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you purchased GNC brand supplements, you may qualify to join this GNC supplements false advertising class action lawsuit investigation.

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