[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Unfortunately, the U.S. market is flooded with fake dietary supplements. It’s a modern-day version of “snake oil.”
“The history of snake oil as a symbol of fraud and deception dates to the late 19th and early 20th centuries,”
Smithsonian magazine reported. “It’s widely connected to the story of Clark Stanley, the self-proclaimed ‘Rattlesnake King’ who sold his so-called snake oil as a treatment for joint pain and rheumatism. In reality, his products contained no actual snake oil at all — just mineral oil, beef fat, red pepper and turpentine. Yet he got away with deceiving his customers for more than two decades.”
One piece of scientific evidence that underscores the snake-oil-style ripoff of today’s fake dietary supplements: A 2023 report published by the journal JAMA Network found 40% of the 57 dietary supplements that researchers tested contained
no detectable amounts of an ingredient listed on the label.
So, while snake oil itself may no longer be sold by the Clark Stanleys of the world, we still must be on the lookout for phony dietary supplements. Decades have passed since snake oil was all the rage, but shady operators still are trying to profit from bogus supplements.
How to prevent being tricked by fake supplements
Unlike folks in the snake-oil era, we now can rely on loads of reliable information to help avoid fake supplements.
Counterfeit supplements and medicines “are often made by untrustworthy manufacturers in spaces that do not follow good manufacturing practices or safety standards and have no quality control,”
says Health In Hand, a nonprofit that helps consumers safely use personal health products. “They may also have too much or too little of the active ingredient — or even none at all. They may also contain other ingredients you aren’t aware of because they do not mention them on the label.”
Here are 10 tips aimed at helping ensure you don’t buy or use fake supplements:
1. Shop for supplements tested and certified by independent labs. Among them are ConsumerLabs.com, NSF International and United States Pharmacopeia (USP).
2. Buy supplements only from authorized sellers of dietary supplements, such as Vitacost. You can find a list of
authorized sellers at ConsumerLab.com. Help in Hand says you should purchase supplements directly from trusted retailers or from a manufacturer’s official website.
3. Visit the Health Fraud Product Database, operated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The database features unapproved products that have faced FDA violations regarding health fraud. This list includes products marketed as dietary supplements claiming to cure, ease, treat or prevent disease, and products containing undeclared ingredients.
4. Read online reviews. “Be concerned if reviews or photos indicate that a product received from a particular seller arrived in unusual packaging, contained pills of a different color, size or shape than the authentic product, or had misspellings on labels,” says ConsumerLab.com. “These tell-tale signs have been spotted with counterfeit, phony supplements.”
5. Watch out for “too good to be true” deals. Health in Hand points out that sellers of fake products often try to lure buyers with super-low prices.
6. Keep an eye out for companies without U.S. mailing addresses or phone numbers. Health in Hand says this could be a red flag that these companies are fake businesses.
7. Check for typos on packaging or bottles. Typos can “be a strong indication of a counterfeit product from a bogus manufacturer,” Health in Hand says.
8. Trust your instincts. “If you can’t pinpoint the reason but get that feeling in your gut that the seller or product isn’t right, avoid it,” Health in Hand recommends.
9. Carefully inspect supplements that you purchase. “If your … item looks off in packaging or labeling, or if the product itself does not look right, return it and report it,” Health in Hand advises.
10. Report online sellers of phony supplements at
gov. Doing so can help other consumers steer clear of fake products.
Responsibly buying and using supplements
Health in Hand notes that many legitimate companies take steps to make sure they’re producing high-quality supplements. This includes making products in regulated factories that adhere to strict safety standards and good manufacturing practices.
The Council for Responsible Nutrition emphasizes that the FDA and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulate the dietary supplement industry in the U.S., as do government agencies in each of the 50 states. However, no federal agency approves dietary supplements before they hit the market.
“FDA regulates both finished dietary supplement products and dietary ingredients,” the council says. “By law, it is illegal to manufacture or market dietary supplement products that are adulterated or misbranded, and FDA has regulatory authority to remove such products from the marketplace.”
Meanwhile, the FTC holds primary responsibility for oversight of dietary supplement advertising.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_text_separator title="Featured Products" border_width="2"][vc_row_inner equal_height="yes" content_placement="middle" gap="35"][vc_column_inner width="1/3"][vc_single_image image="185542" img_size="full" alignment="center" onclick="custom_link" img_link_target="_blank" css=".vc_custom_1749922566230{padding-right: 7% !important;padding-left: 7% !important;}" link="https://www.vitacost.com/garden-of-life-vitamin-code-calcium-magnesium-gummies"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width="1/3"][vc_single_image image="185543" img_size="full" alignment="center" onclick="custom_link" img_link_target="_blank" css=".vc_custom_1749922588732{padding-right: 7% !important;padding-left: 7% !important;}" link="https://www.vitacost.com/rainbow-light-womens-one-multivitamin-120-tablets"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width="1/3"][vc_single_image image="185544" img_size="full" alignment="center" onclick="custom_link" img_link_target="_blank" css=".vc_custom_1749922612024{padding-right: 7% !important;padding-left: 7% !important;}" link="https://www.vitacost.com/megafood-women-over-55-one-daily-multivitamin"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row]
