It was also revealed that some supplement vendors made unsubstantiated claims that supplements can cure disease. Such statements, without substantive evidence and regulatory review, are illegal.The revelations come two weeks before debate begins on a landmark food safety bill in the Senate. Industry insiders expect the coming legislation to substantially increase federal authority governing food manufacturers.
Critics of the supplement industry say that kind of oversight can't come too soon.
While nearly all of the supplements tested contained trace amounts of lead and heavy metals such as mercury, cadmium and arsenic—the levels did not exceed current thresholds considered unsafe.
However, investigators found that 16 out of 40 supplements tested contained residues from pesticides that appeared to exceed legal limits.
So far, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) doesn't seem to be too concerned. Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, the principal deputy commissioner of the FDA, told an interviewer that he was not concerned with regard to the safety of supplements tested by investigators acting on behalf of the GAO.
In the same breath however, Dr. Sharfstein noted the FDA had recently recalled a dietary supplement due to the possibility of consumer harm. The supplement 'Vita Breath' was recalled due to the potential for hazardous lead content.
There are other problems that will be discussed at the Senate hearings. Some supplements have been found to contain steroids not listed on product labels. Travis Tygart, the chief executive of the US Anti-Doping Agency, noted in a communiqué to the Senate committee that some athletes have actually been rendered ineligible for international competition due to the ingestion of supplements containing steroids without their knowledge.
Another doctor will testify before the Senate committee that his company, ConsumerLab.com, has tested over 2,000 dietary supplements made by more than 300 manufacturers. One in four supplements, says Dr. Tod Cooperman, have exhibited quality problems.
Half of the US population consumes vitamin supplements on a regular basis, with 25 percent taking herbal supplements at least occasionally. The supplement juggernaut is worth $25 billion in sales annually, and growing.
Equally as serious, GAO investigators found that at least nine of the 40 products tested are alleged to have made illegal health claims. One product containing ginkgo biloba was labeled as a treatment for Alzheimer's disease, while another containing ginseng was claimed to prevent diabetes and cancer. One salesperson at a supplement specialty store inferred that a garlic supplement could be taken instead of blood pressure medication.
Any product that claims to treat, cure, prevent or mitigate a disease is considered a drug and must go through a strict regulatory review process.
The vast majority of supplement suppliers are located in China.