Lawsuit: Disclose PCB Levels in Fish Oil
Quoted from CBSNews.com http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/03/02/health/main6259938.shtml
Group Finds Amount of Contaminant Varies Greatly Among Popular Supplement Brands; Vague Claims on Labels Seen as Deceptive
March 2, 2010
NEW YORK, (CBS) A lawsuit brought by environmentalists in California claims popular brands of fish oil dietary supplements contain unsafe and illegal levels of the carcinogenic chemicals known as polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs.
The lawsuit, filed in California Superior Court in San Francisco, targets eight supplement manufacturers or distributors – CVS Pharmacy, Rite Aid, General Nutrition Corp., Solgar, Twinlab, Now Health, Omega Protein and Pharmavite – for alleged violations of California’s Proposition 65, which requires that consumers be warned about chemical exposures.
The plaintiffs are two citizen environmentalists and the Mateel Environmental Justice Foundation. Their initial testing found that levels of PCBs in supplements in popular fish oil products varied wildly, from about 12 nanograms per recommended dose in the best performer to more than 850 nanograms in the worst performer – a factor of 70.
By Ken Millstone
[Article continues at original source: CBS News]
To learn about the Health Effects of PCBs from the EPA.gov website, click here.