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ALBANY, NY (AP) — New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman (SHNEYE'-dur-muhn) says an ongoing investigation by his office has found numerous store brand herbal supplements aren't what their labels claim to be.
Schneiderman says his office has sent letters to four major retailers concerning supplements that either couldn't be verified to contain the labeled substance or that contained ingredients not listed on the label.
The retailers are GNC, Target, Walmart, and Walgreens. The products include echinacea (eck-in-NAY'-uh), ginseng, St. John's wort, ginkgo biloba and saw palmetto.
DNA testing ordered by the state found four out of five bottles of the supplements didn't contain any of the herbal ingredients on the label.
Schneiderman asked the companies to provide detailed information on production, processing, testing and quality control for herbal supplements sold at their stores.
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APPHOTO NYML101: A woman walks past a GNC store, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2015 in New York. Numerous store brand supplements aren't what their labels claim to be, an ongoing investigation of popular herbal supplements subjected to DNA testing has found, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said Tuesday. GNC, Target, Walmart and Walgreen Co. sold supplements that either couldn't be verified to contain the labeled substance or that contained ingredients not listed on the label, according to Schneiderman's office. "We stand by the quality, purity and potency of all ingredients listed on the labels of our private label products," said GNC spokeswoman Laura Brophy. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan) (3 Feb 2015)
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