DOJ cracks down on low-quality supplement companies: see the ingredients list to learn why

Tuesday, January 12, 2016 by: Jonathan Benson, staff writer
Tags: DOJ sweep, nutritional supplements, toxic fillers

---

(NaturalNews) The federal government is finally taking notice of all the garbage dietary supplements flooding the market these days, many of which are loaded with synthetic fillers, artificial flavors and in some cases, illegal additives. As part of a massive sweep, the Department of Justice (DOJ) is indicting a number of supplement manufacturers that it says are breaking the rules and damaging the industry for all the honest players selling accurately-labeled, therapeutic grade supplements.

One of the biggest names to go down is USPlabs, a Texas-based producer of weight-loss and sports supplements that reports indicate was illegally marketing and selling spiked supplements. Among the targeted products are OxyElite Pro and a popular muscle-building supplement known as "Jack3d," both of which the DOJ says contained illegal, synthetic stimulants rather than the "plant extracts" indicated on the label.

Around 117 people and entities were caught in the sweep over the past year, stated Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, who recently gave a press conference about the enforcement actions. The findings of the sweep uncovered "alarming practices" within the supplement industry, according to Mizer, who told reporters that the Feds are actively seeking to take down all the bad apples.

"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," stated Howard Sklamberg, deputy commissioner for global regulatory operations and policy at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

"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."

Popular Centrum multivitamins loaded with chemicals; will the DOJ issue crackdown?

We took a look at a few popular supplement products on the market today, and even just their stated ingredients raise serious concerns as far as their safety goes. A product known as "Elimidrol," by Sunrise Nutraceuticals, for instance, contains questionable ingredients in the form of "Natural & Artificial Flavors;" sucralose (the generic name for Splenda); and RD&C Red #40, a petroleum-derived food coloring.

Or how about Centrum's "Centrum Men" multivitamin, which contains a laundry list of synthetic vitamin compounds and other potentially toxic additives such as:

• Modified Corn Starch and Corn Starch, both of which are likely derived from genetically-modified (GM) corn.

• BHT (Butylated hydroxytoluene), an immunotoxic preservative chemical that's been shown to trigger allergies and in some cases cancer.

• Hydrogenated palm oil, a trans-fatty acid that the FDA now admits is a factor in the development of cardiovascular disease.

• Magnesium stearate, a "flow agent" found in all sorts of supplements that suppresses immunity and promotes the formation of formaldehyde, a carcinogenic poison used in the pest control industry.

• Polyethylene glycol, a synthetic resin compound linked to organ toxicity.

• Yellow 6 lake, a petroleum-based coloring agent linked to organ toxicity and hyperactivity in children.

A complete listing of the ingredients in Centrum's "Men's Centrum" multivitamin is available here.

As far as we know, Centrum, which is owned by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, isn't part of the DOJ supplement sweep. But based on the ingredients found in its multivitamin products, it sure seems like it should be! There's no reason why any multivitamin needs to contain plastics, trans fats, food coloring and GMOs.

Food-based multivitamins by companies like Standard Process and MegaFood are a much better option than Centrum or any other commercial supplement product. And hopefully this DOJ sweep will lead more health-conscious consumers to choose better brands that don't load their products with cheap fillers and toxic additives.

Sources for this article include:

WSJ.com

FDA.gov

Elimidrol.com

Centrum.com

EWG.org

Draxe.com

EWG.org

EWG.org

StandardProcess.com

MegaFood.com