On Tuesday, the First lady Chirlane McCray announced that all new moms at the city’s public hospital and a major Brooklyn hospital will be...
A 365-day-long federal investigation into the dietary supplement industry has led to huge crackdown on tainted or misleading products. The Justice Department said on Tuesday that criminal and civil enforcement actions against 117 companies and individuals have been filed.
The main focus of the sweep is on USPlabs, a firm based in Dallas for the sale of the best-selling workout supplements Jack3d and OxyElite Pro. The supplements contain the amphetamine-like stimulant dimethylamylamine, or DMAA.
Federal prosecutors on Tuesday brought criminal charges against USPlabs and six of its executives associated with the sale of those products.
Following the news of the crackdown, the shares of the nation’s leading nutritional supplement retailers, like GNC Holdings and the Vitamin Shoppe, have declined.
The indictment that has been filed in Federal District Court in Dallas against USPlabs has accused the supplement manufacturer of giving wrong information to its retailers and wholesalers. It told them that natural plant extracts are used in its products, but in reality the manufacturer was using a synthetic stimulant created by a Chinese chemical factory.
The indictment said that the use of OxyElite Pro has resulted in many liver injuries with at least one death. According to marketers, the supplements boosted strength, speed and endurance, and thus gained popularity among workout enthusiasts.
Following the death of two soldiers in December 2011, after they had used Jack3d, the Defense Department recalled all products that contain DMAA from stores on military bases that included over 100 shops ran by GNC Holdings, the largest retailer of nutritional supplements in the nation.
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