Unfortunately, the full ConsumerLab (remember, this is not the same as Consumer Reports) report is not available unless you subscribe on their website, so it is difficult to vet their claims. The CL site shouts, "Twelve multivitamins failed our tests! Find out which passed or failed now," which you have to pay ($10 for the single report) to do. No thanks - I don't appreciate it when companies try to scare me in order to take my money. However, this is not the first report to question vitamin quality. A Feb 2006 Consumer Reports piece mentions testing done in 2004 that found nearly half of 18 tested brands failed to contain the claimed amount of a least one nutrient and several did not dissolve adequately, although none of the vitamins in their tests contained heavy metals such as lead.
Friday, January 19, 2007
Lead in Your Vitamins?
MSNBC is reporting that recent ConsumerLab tests of daily multivitamins identified problems with the ingredients, including unusual levels of lead in The Vitamin Shoppe Multivitamins Especially for Women. From the story:
Cntrum Silver, Member's Mark Complete Multi (distributed by Sam's Club), One A Day Women's and Flintstones Complete passed CL's tests.
The Vitamin Shoppe women's product contained 15.3 micrograms of lead per daily serving of two tablets, and contained "54 percent of the 200 milligrams of calcium stated on the label."
"Hero Nutritionals Yummi Bears, a multivitamin for children, had 216 percent of the labeled amount of vitamin A in the retinol form, delivering 5,400 International Units (IU) in a daily serving. That's substantially more than the upper tolerable level set by the Institute of Medicine of 2,000 IU for kids ages 1 to 3 and 3,000 IU for those 4 to 8."
"Eniva VIBE, a multivitamin liquid sold in packets, had only 54 percent of the claimed vitamin A."
Unfortunately, the full ConsumerLab (remember, this is not the same as Consumer Reports) report is not available unless you subscribe on their website, so it is difficult to vet their claims. The CL site shouts, "Twelve multivitamins failed our tests! Find out which passed or failed now," which you have to pay ($10 for the single report) to do. No thanks - I don't appreciate it when companies try to scare me in order to take my money. However, this is not the first report to question vitamin quality. A Feb 2006 Consumer Reports piece mentions testing done in 2004 that found nearly half of 18 tested brands failed to contain the claimed amount of a least one nutrient and several did not dissolve adequately, although none of the vitamins in their tests contained heavy metals such as lead.
Unfortunately, the full ConsumerLab (remember, this is not the same as Consumer Reports) report is not available unless you subscribe on their website, so it is difficult to vet their claims. The CL site shouts, "Twelve multivitamins failed our tests! Find out which passed or failed now," which you have to pay ($10 for the single report) to do. No thanks - I don't appreciate it when companies try to scare me in order to take my money. However, this is not the first report to question vitamin quality. A Feb 2006 Consumer Reports piece mentions testing done in 2004 that found nearly half of 18 tested brands failed to contain the claimed amount of a least one nutrient and several did not dissolve adequately, although none of the vitamins in their tests contained heavy metals such as lead.
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