Was that secret supplement investigation nothing more than a ‘self-serving publicity stunt’?

Some are calling it nothing more than a “self-serving publicity stunt.”

It was all “lights, camera, action” when New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced his big supplement investigation.

But when it came time to back up his accusations, well, the stage door was slammed shut.

And that’s leading a lot of people to ask: What is Schneiderman hiding?

A walk in Jurassic Park

No one likes to be cheated. And especially when we spend our hard-earned money on something to improve our health.

So when Schneiderman announced that some herbal products he had tested from Walgreens, Walmart, Target and GNC didn’t contain the ingredients listed on the label, the media jumped on the story, shouting “buyer beware.”

But there’s more going on than what you saw in the headlines.

First, the way the products in question were determined to be “fake” was by means of a test called DNA barcoding. And that test was done by an evolutionary biologist who specializes in looking for DNA in dinosaurs.

DNA barcoding is a way to look for tiny genetic markers (think of them as genetic fingerprints) buried inside cell DNA. Each plant or animal has different genetic markers, and by scanning strands of DNA scientists should be able to tell the difference between a cell that came from a monkey and one that came from a redwood tree.

Of course, for DNA barcoding to work, the cellular genetic material needs to be intact – and even then, the test is famous for being unable to distinguish between closely related species. Scientists from three leading research universities analyzed how DNA barcoding works and said the test was so “suspect” and prone to producing “unsatisfactory results” that they weren’t sure it should be used at all.

And that’s doubly true when you’re analyzing supplements, because the DNA in herbal products typically won’t survive the extraction process.

The Chief Science Officer for The American Botanical Council explained that DNA barcoding is “seldom able to properly identify chemically complex herbal extracts.”

And then there’s the question of allowing outside experts to see all these “official” reports. The ones that the AG’s office keeps talking about, but is keeping secret.

Those reports have never been published, peer reviewed, or shown to anyone outside of this investigation – including the accused companies. And it looks like they won’t be made public anytime soon – if ever.

Yet leaders in the natural products industry want to see exactly what methods were used for testing these supplements.

A statement issued by Schneiderman’s office said that the data will not be published for peer review, and that it’s “part of an ongoing investigation.”

GNC, one of the companies that was targeted, appears to be incredulous over the entire incident. It argues that all its product lots were tested during and after production, and met all standards for purity.

The company also retested its products after being put on notice by the AG. And it found them to be “pure” and “properly labeled.”

And GNC isn’t the only firm that wants to find out if Schneiderman’s claims have any merit.

The United Natural Products Alliance said that it will be sending people out all over the country to purchase every single one of the supplements the AG targeted. It then plans to send all the supplements to six certified botanical testing laboratories.

Unlike Schneiderman’s data, those lab reports will all be made public. The group believes the best way to respond to “bad science” is with “good science.”

But I bet those results won’t get a fraction of the fanfare – if they get any at all — that Schneiderman’s probe did.

Because, as usual, the media will have moved onto much more pressing issues, like the “baby born pregnant,” “eight beauty don’ts,” and whatever some Kardashian is up to.

Sources:

“Supplement makers deride NY attorney general’s testing method” February 9, 2015, Newsmax health, newsmaxhealth.com

“GNC: Tests and re-tests show that ‘products contain the ingredients stated on the labels at the levels indicated on the labels’ Stephen Daniells, February 10, 2015, Nutra Ingredients-USA, nutraingredients-usa.com