feDOJ Sues Supplement Makers Over Mislabeling, Failure To Follow Good Manufacturing Processes

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The supplements pictured aren’t part of this lawsuit that we know of. (HealthGauge)

When people buy dietary supplements, they do so assuming that the product in the pill, powder, or liquid actually is what it claims to be, and that the amount you’re taking is correct. The U.S. Department of Justice has accused three supplement makers of being careless with what went into their products –– or, in bureaucrat-speak, “misbranding” and “not complying with the FDA’s current good manufacturing practices.”

In this case, it wasn’t anything as wacky or extreme as claiming that generic Viagra was an “herbal supplement.” The DOJ filed a complaint against three Wisconsin-based companies: Atrium Inc., Aspen Group Inc., and Nutri-Pak of Wisconsin Inc., all three of which have the same owners.

Natural Products Insider reports that Nutri-Pak has an outgoing voice mail message stating that all three companies have closed.

Specific charges against the companies come from a July 2014 inspection where a Food and Drug Administration investigator noted that the company failed to document their manufacturing processes according to good practices, did not identify all of the ingredients used in their supplements and their sources, and didn’t differentiate between different parts of the same plant when manufacturing supplements.

Another problem is the serving size: some products did not set a serving size, and also aren’t labeled with the number of typical servings in a container.

Products listed in the complaint, in case you want to check your vitamin and supplement cabinet, include Chole-Sterin, Atrium brand Di-Acid Stim, Atrium brand Natto, Atrium brand Oco-Comp, Atrium brand Super- Flex, Aspen brand Flexile-Plus, Nutri-Pak brand Glucobiotic Supreme, and Nutri-Pak brand Ocu-Comp.

In the complaint, the feds asked that the company cease manufacturing their supplements, and they already have.

Justice Department Sues Three Dietary Supplement Businesses in Wisconsin [Natural Products Insider]
United States Files Complaint against Three Wisconsin Dietary Supplement Manufacturers [USDOJ]

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist