GNC Holdings Inc., a global dietary supplement retailer, agreed to pay $2.25 million to avoid federal prosecution over its alleged sale of illegal dietary supplements, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Wednesday.
A report from Reuters said GNC admitted no wrongdoing. However, a senior Justice Department official hailed it as “a significant step forward in reforming an industry rife with alarming practices.”
The reported illegal dietary supplement under discussion was a misbranded OxyElite Pro Advanced Formula, made by Dallas-based USP Labs, sold in 2013.
USP Labs was indicted in November 2015 in a federal court in Dallas on charges that it engaged in a conspiracy to import ingredients from China using false certificates of analysis and false labeling, according to the Justice Department.
In a statement, GNC said it was pleased to have resolved the misbranded supplements matter with the government and had removed certain USP Labs products from the shelves of its stores “years ago.”
See the full report here.
Photo courtesy GNC
