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A Supplement Company Fails Inspection 5 Times. Why Are Their Products Still On Shelves?

Jacquelyn Martin
/
AP
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration building behind FDA logos at a bus stop on the agency's campus in Silver Spring, Md., in 2018.

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wants the federal government to investigate why a Suffolk County dietary supplement company continued to sell products that failed FDA inspections. 

ABH Nature’s Products failed FDA inspections five times since 2012. They violated safety standards and made unverified claims that their products could cure conditions like cancer and HIV. 

Schumer wants the Department of Health and Human Services to investigate why the products were never taken off the shelves. 

“The old expression – one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch – this is one bad bottle can spoil the whole bunch. A bottle that is mislabeled, incorrect and in violation of law, puts a dark mark on the whole industry. That’s what we want to avoid.” 

Schumer says that companies that violate FDA standards should face faster and more stringent consequences. 

“Not only are they putting out false claims about their supplements, but when people doubt the supplement industry it hurts all of Long Island, including the vast majority of companies that are good, law-abiding companies.” 

Suffolk County is home to 25 supplement manufacturing companies that employ 13,000 workers. Schumer says HHS should investigate immediately because the industry is important to the local economy.

The president of ABH Nature’s Products declined to comment except to say the company is committed to public safety. 

Desiree reports on the lives of military service members, veterans, and their families for WSHU as part of the American Homefront project. Born and raised in Connecticut, she now calls Long Island home.