Probe is latest into $30 billion-dollar dietary supplement industry
By Matthew Perrone
AP Health Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - A senior U.S. Senate Democrat is probing retailers and online companies about sales of dubious dietary supplements, especially those promising seniors protection from memory loss, dementia and other age-related problems.
The pills, tablets and formulas targeted by Senator Claire McCaskill bear names like "Brain Awake," ''Dementia Drops" and "Food for the Brain," which claims to ease "forms of dementia such as Alzheimer's disease."
In letters sent this week to 15 companies - including Wal-Mart, Amazon, Google and Walgreen's - McCaskill asks executives to explain how they vet dietary supplements and weed out products making false claims. The Missouri Democrat is the ranking member on the Senate Aging Committee, which frequently investigates health scams targeting older Americans.
"Frankly, I think there's a special place in hell for someone who markets a product and says it will cure Alzheimer's," McCaskill told The Associated Press. "And that's essentially what these scammers are doing and they've had assistance in that."
This is the latest probe into the $30 billion-dollar dietary supplement industry, which encompasses thousands of products and has long been plagued by questionable advertising, marketing and manufacturing practices. Supplements have never been subject to the same Food and Drug Administration regulations as prescription and over-the-counter drugs, which must be reviewed as safe and effective before being sold in the U.S.
Earlier this year, 14 state attorneys general asked Congress to investigate the herbal supplement industry. They pointed to DNA-based test results apparently showing that some store-brand supplements have none of the ingredients listed on their labels.
McCaskill's probe focuses specifically on supplements targeting seniors who are concerned about dementia. More than 5 million people in the U.S. suffer from Alzheimer's, the most common form of dementia, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There is no cure and prescription drugs only temporarily ease symptoms.
But rather than focusing on the supplements themselves, McCaskill's investigation is probing how they make their way into consumers' shopping carts and medicine cabinets.
In a letter to Wal-Mart chief executive Doug McMillon, McCaskill asks for a briefing with the company to "better understand Wal-Mart's policies and practices related to dietary supplements."
A spokesman for the company said in a statement: "We appreciate the opportunity to share information about our supplement business and look forward to cooperating with the committee as appropriate."
McCaskill also requests similar meetings with grocery chains like Kroger Co., supplement seller GNC, as well as Internet search engines, including Google Inc.
Published: Thu, Jun 18, 2015
