ConsumerLab.com
{{Short description|American publisher of health data}}
{{Infobox company
| name = ConsumerLab.com
| type = Private
| foundation = {{Start date|1999}}
| founder =
| location_city = 333 Mamaroneck Avenue White Plains, NY
| location_country = United States
| key_people = Tod Cooperman, M.D. (President)
Mark Anderson, Ph.D. (VP of Research)
Lisa K. Sabin (VP of Business Development)
| industry = Book Publisher (NAICS code 51130)
| services = Publisher of test results and guides for dietary supplement, brand licensing and advertising.
| num_employees =
| revenue =
| homepage = {{URL|www.consumerlab.com}}
}}
ConsumerLab.com, LLC. is a privately held American company registered in White Plains, NY. It is a publisher of test results on health, wellness, and nutrition products.[https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/04/sports/playmagazine/04play-supplement.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 Give Us This Day Our Daily Supplements] New York Times, 4 March 2007. Consumer Labs is not a laboratory, but contracts studies to outside testing laboratories. It purchases dietary supplement products and other consumer goods directly from public storefronts and online retailers, contracts for testing by private laboratories, and publishes reports based on the results. It primarily derives revenue from the sale of subscriptions to its online publications, which are paywalled. Other sources of revenue include a proprietary certification program, licensing fees, contents re-publication license fees, and advertising.{{cite web|title=About ConsumerLab.com|url=http://www.consumerlab.com/aboutcl.asp|publisher=Consumerlab.com|accessdate=8 December 2012}}
In 2000, ConsumerLab.com generated media attention when its testing of ginseng products revealed substantial pesticide contamination in many products. In 2008, they found 12 red yeast rice product samples to contain widely varying amounts of active ingredients and some included toxins. The testing was repeated in 2014 and 2018 with similar findings. In 2011, they found that two of three coconut water products contained less sodium and magnesium than claimed on the Nutrition Facts label. This spurred a class-action lawsuit against Vita Coco's manufacturer, All Market Inc., which was eventually settled for $10 million in 2012. In 2012, a ConsumerLab.com study reported that a tested sample of the energy drink 5-hour Energy contained about 207 mg of caffeine,{{Cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/perks-of-five-hour-energy-put-to-test|title=Perks of Five-Hour Energy Put to Test|date=February 7, 2011|work=The Early Show|publisher=CBS|access-date=April 19, 2023|language=en}}{{cite web|last=Hudson|first=William|title=FDA investigates deaths preliminarily linked to energy shots|url=http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/15/health/energy-drinks-fda-investigates/index.html|publisher=CNN|accessdate=12 December 2012|date=16 November 2012}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/clareoconnor/2012/02/08/whats-in-a-bottle-of-5-hour-energy|title=What's In A Bottle Of 5-Hour Energy?|last=O'Connor|first=Clare|work=Forbes|access-date=2018-10-02|language=en}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704322804576303452592018100|title=Bottlers of Buzz Wake Up to Find Seniors as Newest Customers|last=Bauerlein|first=Valerie|date=2011-06-02|work=Wall Street Journal|access-date=2018-10-02|language=en-US|issn=0099-9660}} which is substantially more than its advertised claim of “about as much caffeine as a cup of the leading premium coffee,” which the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) states to be generally 80–100 mg.{{Cite journal|last=Commissioner|first=Office of the|date=2019-04-18|title=Spilling the Beans: How Much Caffeine is Too Much?|url=https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/spilling-beans-how-much-caffeine-too-much|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190528154137/https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/spilling-beans-how-much-caffeine-too-much|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 28, 2019|journal=FDA|language=en}}
History
ConsumerLab.com was founded in 1999 by Tod Cooperman M.D., a graduate of the Boston University School of Medicine.{{Cite web|url=https://www.consumerlab.com/aboutcl.asp|title=About Us {{!}} ConsumerLab.com|website=www.consumerlab.com|access-date=2018-09-23}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.pharmacychecker.com/aboutus|title=About PharmacyChecker.com|website=PharmacyChecker.com|language=en|access-date=2018-09-23}}{{Citation|last=Newsmax TV|title=MidPoint {{!}} Tod Cooperman, MD discusses the dangers involved with mislabeled supplements|date=2015-02-09|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dWBcLQEPlk|access-date=2018-08-05}}
Personnel
William Obermeyer helped found ConsumerLab.com and served as V.P. for Research until 2012.{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5429539|title=Private Company Tests Safety of Supplements|work=NPR.org|access-date=2018-10-02|language=en}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/lead-arsenic-parasites-many-herbal-supplements-tainted|title=Lead? Arsenic? Parasites? Many Herbal Supplements Tainted|date=2015-03-25|work=Fox News|access-date=2018-10-02|language=en-US}} Obermeyer worked as a Natural Products Chemist testing dietary supplements within the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER), part of FDA, for nine years prior to joining ConsumerLab.com in 1999. As of 2007, Obermeyer worked as an advisor to the company.[http://abstracts.aapspharmaceutica.com/ExpoAAPS07/CC/forms/attendee/index.aspx?content=speakerInfo&speakerId=6576 William Obermeyer] 2007 Annual Meeting & Exposition, American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305000441/http://abstracts.aapspharmaceutica.com/ExpoAAPS07/CC/forms/attendee/index.aspx?content=speakerInfo&speakerId=6576 |date=2016-03-05 }}
The current V.P. for research is Mark L. Anderson, a pharmacologist/toxicologist who was previously Director of Research and Development at Triarco Industries,[http://www.linkedin.com/pub/mark-anderson-ph-d/3b/175/b68 Mark Anderson, Ph.D] LinkedIn. Retrieved 8 December 2012. a manufacturer of ingredients for the food, beverage, and dietary supplement/nutraceutical industries.
Products and services
ConsumerLab.com reports that its main revenue is from online subscriptions. Other revenue-generating products include books, survey reports{{cite journal | last1 = Anetor | first1 = John I | year = 2005 | title = ConsumerLab.com's "Guide to Buying Vitamins & Supplements: What's Really in the Bottle? | journal = Journal of the National Medical Association | volume = 97 | issue = 2| pages = 304–305 | pmc=2568756}} and the sale of licenses to publish its proprietary information. Tests are not conducted by ConsumerLab.com, but are contracted to independent laboratories. A 2000 New York Times article reports one of the laboratories is Alpha Chemical and Biomedical Laboratories in Petaluma, CA.{{cite news|last=HEMPHILL|first=CLARA|title=Putting Dietary Supplements to the Test|url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40B16F63E550C738EDDAF0894D8404482|accessdate=2 January 2013|newspaper=New York Times|quote=ConsumerLab.com of White Plains, is testing various products for quality and potency at independent laboratories across the country, including Alpha Chemical|date=June 20, 2000}}
Products to be tested are purchased directly from retail stores, online retailers, mail-order catalogs, or multi-level marketing companies. Products are not accepted from manufacturers, and are retested every few years. A 2004 Journal of the Medical Library Association review noted that "approximately half of the [laboratory test results] reports indicate the date the review was posted". For a fee, ConsumerLab.com offers a voluntary certification program. Products that pass the certification can use the "CL Seal of Approval" for which there is a licensing fee. Vendors of brand name products named in its reports can, for an advertising fee, be listed in a "Where to Buy" section which is clearly marked as advertising.
Research and Publications
In the analysis "[A Multi-Year Heavy Metal Analysis of 72 Dark Chocolate and Cocoa Products in the USA](https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2024.1366231)," published in Frontiers in Nutrition (2024), researchers from ConsumerLab.com and George Washington University analyzed lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and arsenic (As) in cocoa products tested from 2014 to 2022. The research revealed that 43% of products exceeded California's Proposition 65 levels for Pb, and 35% for Cd, although 97.2% met less stringent US FDA standards for Pb. Products labeled as "organic" were more likely to have higher levels of both lead and cadmium. This underscores the need for vigilant heavy metal monitoring in cocoa products, especially those labeled organic, to ensure consumer safety.
Government and legal interactions
In January 2005, the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN),{{Cite web|url=http://www.crnusa.org/about-crn|title=About CRN {{!}} Council for Responsible Nutrition|website=www.crnusa.org|language=en|access-date=2018-09-24}} a "trade association representing dietary supplement and functional food manufacturers and ingredient suppliers," registered a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission against ConsumerLab.com.{{Cite news|url=https://www.naturalproductsinsider.com/regulatory/crn-files-ftc-complaint-against-consumerlabcom-0|title=CRN Files FTC Complaint Against ConsumerLab.com|date=2005-01-13|work=Natural Products INSIDER|access-date=2018-09-24}} It alleged the "entire business model" of ConsumerLab.com "represents an egregious form of consumer fraud and deception." CRN requested the FTC to require ConsumerLab.com to disclose all test results, identify the labs that perform its tests, and change its company name to avoid implying that it does its own testing.[http://www.nutraceuticalsworld.com/contents/view_breaking-news/2005-02-25/crn-asks-ftc-to-investigate-consumerlab-com/ Nutraceuticals World] On 15 March 2005, the FTC stated: "staff is not recommending agency action at this time,"{{Cite web|url=https://www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/documents/public_statements/consumerlab.com-llc-and-its-product-review-and-voluntary-certification-programs-testing-dietary-supplements-and/050315crnreconsumerlab.pdf|title=Re: Council for Responsible Nutrition's Complaint Against ConsumerLab.com, LLC|last=Engle|first=Mary|date=15 Mar 2002|website=FTC.gov|access-date=24 Sep 2018}} and no subsequent action has occurred.
On 9 March 2006, Dr. Tod Cooperman spoke at a House of Representatives Committee on Government Reform hearing on the Regulation of Dietary Supplements.{{Cite web|url=https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG-109hhrg27187|title=House Hearing, 109th Congress - The Regulation of Dietary Supplements: A Review of Consumer Safeguards|website=GPO.gov|language=en|access-date=2018-09-24}} In his statement, he said the most common problem identified from their tests were "lack of ingredient in a supplement or a very poor quality ingredient in a supplement" (i.e., potency) and "contamination with lead and other heavy metals and pesticides" (i.e., adulteration).{{cite web|url=https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG-109hhrg27187/pdf/CHRG-109hhrg27187.pdf|title=The Regulation of Dietary Supplements: A Review of Consumer Safeguards|date=9 March 2006|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|page=184|accessdate=19 August 2011}} On 26 May 2010, Dr. Cooperman reported similar problems{{cite web|url=https://www.aging.senate.gov/download/2010/05/26/tod-cooperman-testimony-052610|title=Testimony of Tod Cooperman, MD, President, ConsumerLab.com to Senate Special Committee on Aging - Subcommittee on Dietary Supplements|date=26 May 2010|publisher=Tod Cooperman|format=PDF|accessdate=19 August 2011}} in a panel statement to a "Dietary Supplements: What Seniors Need To Know" hearing at the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging.[http://aging.senate.gov/hearing_detail.cfm?id=325265& hearing detail] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121212060807/http://www.aging.senate.gov/hearing_detail.cfm?id=325265&|date=2012-12-12}}{{cite web|url=http://aging.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=325285&&|title=Kohl Calls For Better Labeling, Reduction of Contaminents in Dietary Supplements|date=26 May 2010|publisher=United States Senate Special Committee On Aging|access-date=11 December 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121212195935/http://www.aging.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=325285&&|archive-date=12 December 2012|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.aging.senate.gov/download/2010/05/26/hearing-052610|title=United States Senate Special Committee on Aging|website=www.aging.senate.gov|language=en|access-date=2018-09-24}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/26/health/policy/26herbal.html|title=Herbal Supplements Often Have Contaminants, Study Finds|last=Harris|first=Gardiner|work=The New York Times |date=26 May 2010 |access-date=2018-10-02|language=en}}
ConsumerLab.com filed suit against CRN alleging CRN's publication of its complaint letter to FTC was defamation, infliction of intentional harm, and six other causes. {{cite court |litigants= Council for Responsible Nutrition vs. Hartford Casualty Insurance Co.| court= UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA| date= 7 July 2007 | url= https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-dcd-1_06-cv-01590/pdf/USCOURTS-dcd-1_06-cv-01590-0.pdf }} In May 2006, the New York Supreme Court dismissed this suit for failure to state a claim for all but the defamation allegation.{{cite web|title=Civil Action No. 06-1590 (RMC)|url=http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/USCOURTS-dcd-1_06-cv-01590/pdf/USCOURTS-dcd-1_06-cv-01590-0.pdf|publisher=US Government Printing Office|accessdate=9 December 2012}}{{Verify source|date=September 2018}} The dispute was eventually settled and dismissed.{{cite web|last=Laurie|first=Budgar|title=ConsumerLab, CRN call legal truce|url=http://newhope360.com/managing-your-business/consumerlab-crn-call-legal-truce|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402141247/http://newhope360.com/managing-your-business/consumerlab-crn-call-legal-truce|archive-date=April 2, 2015|publisher=Natural Foods Merchandiser|accessdate=9 December 2012}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=3cd93e54-362e-486c-aa89-19099fa36209|title=Insurance for advertising injury covers claims of defamation under New York law {{!}} Lexology|date=6 August 2007 |language=en|access-date=2018-10-02}}
On 1 June 2017, Dr. Mark Anderson spoke at the National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements Research Practicum.{{Cite web|url=https://ods.od.nih.gov/Research/dsrpvideos.aspx|title=Office of Dietary Supplements - Mary Frances Picciano Dietary Supplement Research Practicum Presentation Videos|website=ods.od.nih.gov|language=en|access-date=2018-09-24}}{{Citation|last=NIHOD|title=Dietary Supplement Practicum (15 of 21): Meeting the Stakeholders--Meet the Watchdogs|date=2017-11-01|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INtFnWxJLy8 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/INtFnWxJLy8 |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|access-date=2018-09-24}}{{cbignore}}{{Citation|last=NIHOD|title=Dietary Supplement Practicum (16 of 21): Discussion with Industry & Watchdog Panels|date=2017-11-01|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcxEtuPRT00 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/bcxEtuPRT00 |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|access-date=2018-09-24}}{{cbignore}}
Dietary supplement testing
ConsumerLab.com seeks to verify the accuracy of manufacturers' claims of supplement contents.{{cite journal|last=Glassman|first=Nancy|title=Electronic resource review: Consumerlab.com|journal=Journal of the Medical Library Association|year=2004| volume=92 | issue=4 |pages=509–510|pmc=521528}} ConsumerLab.com tries to communicate the testing methods, quality criteria/standards, and results in common, layman's terms. Consumer Labs is not a laboratory, but contracts studies to outside independent laboratories.
= Notable findings =
In 2000, ConsumerLab.com's testing of Ginseng products revealed substantial pesticide contamination in many products, creating significant media attention.{{Cite magazine|url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,997602,00.html|title=Ginseng Surprise|last1=Smith|first1=Ian K.|date=2000-07-31|magazine=Time|access-date=2018-10-01|last2=M.D|language=en-US|issn=0040-781X}}{{Cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=124174&page=1|title=20/20: Warnings About Herbal Supplements|date=2006-01-06|website=ABC News|language=en|access-date=2018-10-01}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/getting-to-the-root-of-ginseng-65654374|title=Getting to the Root of Ginseng|last=Taylor|first=David A. |author-link=David A. Taylor (writer)|work=Smithsonian|access-date=2018-10-01|language=en}}{{Cite journal|date=July 2001|title=News Features: Herbs for health, but how safe are they?|url=https://www.who.int/docstore/bulletin/pdf/2001/issue7/news.pdf|journal=Bulletin of the World Health Organization|volume=79| issue = 7|pages=692|via=WHO}}
In 2008, ConsumerLab.com submitted 12 red yeast rice product samples to a third party testing lab and found the supplements contained widely varying amounts of active ingredients and some included toxins.{{Cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Health/Cholesterol/wide-variations-found-red-yeast-rice-supplements/story?id=11966172|title=Cholesterol-Busting Herb: What're You Getting?|date=2010-10-26|website=ABC News|language=en|access-date=2018-10-02}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-contamination-common/contamination-common-in-red-yeast-rice-products-idUSCOL97022820080709|title=Contamination common in red yeast rice products|last=Harding|first=Anne|date=9 July 2008|work=Reuters|access-date=2018-10-02|language=en-US}}{{Cite journal|last1=Gordon|first1=Ram Y.|last2=Cooperman|first2=Tod|last3=Obermeyer|first3=William|last4=Becker|first4=David J.|date=2010-10-25|title=Marked Variability of Monacolin Levels in Commercial Red Yeast Rice Products|url=https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/226109|journal=Archives of Internal Medicine|language=en|volume=170|issue=19|doi=10.1001/archinternmed.2010.382|issn=0003-9926|pmid=20975018|pages=1722–7|doi-access=|url-access=subscription}} The testing was repeated in 2014 and 2018 with similar findings.{{Cite web|url=https://www.consumerlab.com/reviews/Red-Yeast-Rice-Supplements-Review/Red_Yeast_Rice|title=Red Yeast Rice Supplement Reviews and Information|website=ConsumerLab.com|access-date=2018-09-23}}
In 2011, a ConsumerLab.com study found that two of three coconut water products, commonly promoted for hydration and electrolyte balance, contained less sodium and magnesium than claimed on the label.{{cite web|last=O'Connor|first=Anahad|title=Really? The Claim: For Better Hydration, Drink Coconut Water|url=http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/08/really-the-claim-for-better-hydration-drink-coconut-water/|work=New York Times|accessdate=12 December 2012|date=8 August 2011}}{{cite web|title=ConsumerLab.com Tests Coconut Water Brands, Menopause Supplements|url=http://www.nutraceuticalsworld.com/issues/2011-09/view_industry-news/consumerlabcom-tests-coconut-water-brands-menopause-supplements/|publisher=Nutraceuticals World|accessdate=12 December 2012|date=1 September 2011}}{{cite web|last=Esterl|first=Mike|title=The Beverage Wars Move to Coconuts|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970203315804577207313086829188|publisher=The Wall Street Journal|accessdate=12 December 2012|date=11 February 2012}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/coconut-water-not-the-mag_n_918135|title=Coconut Water Not the Magic Hydration Bullet It's Claimed To Be: Study|date=2011-08-04|work=HuffPost|access-date=2018-10-02|language=en-US}} This spurred a class-action lawsuit against Vita Coco's manufacturer, All Market Inc., which was eventually settled for $10 million in 2012.{{Cite news|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/rihannas-favorite-coconut-water-will-pay-10m-to-settle-suit-over-super-hydrating-claims-2012-2|title=Vita Coco Will Pay $10M To Settle Suit Over 'Super-Hydrating' Coconut Water|work=Business Insider|access-date=2018-10-02}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2012/04/17/is-coconut-water-headed-for-a-boom-or-bust.html|title=Is Coconut Water Headed for a Boom or Bust?|last=Rovell|first=Darren|date=2012-04-17|work=CNBC|access-date=2018-10-02}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970203315804577207313086829188|title=The Beverage Wars Move to Coconuts|last=Esterl|first=Mike|date=2012-02-11|work=Wall Street Journal|access-date=2018-10-02|language=en-US|issn=0099-9660}}
In 2012, a ConsumerLab.com study on energy drinks reported that a tested sample of 5-hour Energy contained about 207 mg of caffeine. This may be considered notably higher than the advertised "about as much caffeine as a cup of the leading premium coffee," as the FDA states that a cup of coffee usually contains 80–100 mg of caffeine and a cup of Starbucks coffee contains 130 mg of caffeine.{{Cite web|url=https://globalassets.starbucks.com/assets/94fbcc2ab1e24359850fa1870fc988bc.pdf|title=Starbucks Coffee Company Beverage Nutrition Information|access-date=2019-07-04}}
See also
References
{{Reflist|33em}}
{{Consumer protection}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Consumer organizations in the United States