GNC Singapore defends its herbal supplements

SINGAPORE - A United States-based health supplement chain defended its herbal products on Wednesday evening after accusations that they did not contain any of the herbs on their labels.

GNC, which has 66 stores in Singapore, responded to a report that the New York state attorney-general's office had accused it and three other major retailers of selling fraudulent and potentially dangerous herbal supplements.

According to the report, tests on top-selling brands of supplements from these retailers found that four out of five did not contain any of the herbs on their labels.

Instead, pills labelled as medicinal herbs contained fillers like powdered rice, asparagus, and houseplants.

"We stand behind the quality, purity and potency of all ingredients listed on the labels of our private label products, including our GNC Herbal Plus line of products," GNC Singapore said in its statement.

"GNC tests all of its products using validated and widely used testing methods, including those approved by governing bodies like the United States Pharmacopeia and the British Pharmacopeia."

The other retailers identified by the attorney-general's office were Target, Walgreens, and Wal-Mart.

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