According to CBC News, a news division of Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, some Marketplace reports about vitamins and supplements published in November contained incorrect information.
This past fall, Marketplace commissioned lab testing for samples of fish oil, vitamin C and protein powder supplements to see if consumers are actually getting what they pay for. Based on those test results, Marketplace reported that Emergen-C and two protein powders: GNC Lean Shake 25 and Cytosport Muscle Milk did not match their label claims.
However, after re-testing the samples it was found that the lab results and analysis provided to Marketplace were incorrect, and that there is no evidence of problems with those products.
The original lab tests were performed by an independent lab in Michigan, which is ISO-17025 accredited, registered with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and used by the supplement industry.
According to the CBC News story, the lab was recommended by Neil Thanedar, co-founder and CEO of LabDoor, a company that has products tested and makes those results public to help guide consumers about vitamins and supplements.
Thanedar agreed to analyze the test results for Marketplace and the supplement companies strong disputed the results.
When Marketplace learned there might be a problem with one of the tests, CBC re-tested some of the products at other independent, accredited labs. None of them found problems with the samples.
In a report broadcasted on Marketplace on January 22, 2016 at 8 p.m., (8:30 p.m. NT), host Erica Johnson says, “We regret giving you incorrect information and any harm it may have caused the companies in our report. We’re sharing this story with you because your trust is important to us. We work hard to make sure we deliver the kind of journalism you’ve come to expect.”
For more information, visit www.cbc.ca/news.
