Washington, D.C., March 30, 2015—In response to an agreement announced today between the New York State Attorney General and GNC Holdings, Inc. (GNC), the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), the leading trade association for the dietary supplement and functional food industry, issued the following statement:
Statement by Steve Mister, president & CEO, CRN:
“The agreement announced today between the New York Attorney General (AG) and GNC performs a real disservice to consumers because it wrongly perpetuates the misdirected notion that DNA barcode testing is appropriate for herbal supplements, when it is not. Moreover, the agreement gives credence to the New York AG’s misguided allegations based on its own DNA barcode testing that legitimate quality concerns existed about the products marketed by four retailers, when there were none. DNA barcode testing remains a flawed method for across-the-board testing for analyzing the quality of botanical ingredients and finished products. Today’s announcement substitutes reasoned judgment of scientists and federal experts with a politically-motivated mandate that does not advance the conversation around the quality of dietary supplements.
We appreciate GNC’s efforts to address the consumer confidence concerns that have been raised by this investigation. This agreement allows GNC to return its products to store shelves while appeasing the New York AG and subduing the class action litigation that has arisen in the wake of the faulty tests. However, federal law already requires dietary supplement manufacturers to adhere to good manufacturing practices (GMPs), including meeting product specifications for identity, purity, strength and composition, and to perform ‘at least one appropriate test’ for the identification of raw materials. FDA, the federal agency charged with enforcing these requirements, does not require DNA barcode testing for plant identification of dietary supplements, nor does it use DNA sequencing by itself for identification of herbal extracts.
Despite widespread calls for transparency and compelling arguments that the DNA barcode testing is faulty, the New York AG’s office has refused to release its DNA barcode testing results. The announcement further entrenches a state attorney general’s office in a regulatory matter in which it has no expertise and substitutes face-saving requirements for meaningful advancement of the industry.”