Government Study on Questionable Marketing Practices with Dietary Supplements

GAO (Government Accountability Office) was asked to determine (1) whether sellers of herbal dietary supplements are using deceptive or questionable marketing practices and (2) whether selected herbal dietary supplements are contaminated with harmful substances. The study was released in May 2010.

Watch the video clip from the USGAO describing examples of deceptive or dangerous marketing for herbal supplements, obtained by undercover visits and phone calls. Unfortunately, GAO investigators were given potentially harmful medical advice, which could have detrimental causes for consumers if they had been the ones getting the advice.




GAO sampled 40 herbal dietary supplement products and discovered at least one potentially hazardous contaminant in 37 of the 40 herbal dietary supplement products tested, though none in amounts considered to pose an acute toxicity hazard.

All 37 supplements tested positive for trace amounts of lead; of those, 32 also contained mercury, 28 cadmium, 21 arsenic, and 18 residues from at least one pesticide.

It should be noted that the levels of heavy metals found do not exceed any FDA or Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations governing dietary supplements or their raw ingredients, and FDA and EPA officials did not express concern regarding any immediate negative health consequences from consuming these 40 supplements.

Source: GAO. (2010). Herbal Dietary Supplements: Examples of Deceptive or Questionable Marketing Practices and Potentially Dangerous Advice. GAO-10-662T.