07.01.14
LabDoor, San Francisco, CA, assessed 75 of the best-selling multivitamins and found that many of the most popular supplements on the market were mislabeled or contained less nutrients than product labels claimed.
LabDoor (www.labdoor.com) is a web and mobile app that reviews the most popular products in the vitamin and dietary supplements categories to provide free analytical and labeling data to help consumers make informed choices. LabDoor takes an in-depth look at each product and conducts its own lab testing for purity and label accuracy before grading the products on nutrition value, ingredient safety and expected efficacy, and arriving at an overall ranking, ranging from A to F.
Of the 75 multivitamins reviewed, key study highlights included:
LabDoor (www.labdoor.com) is a web and mobile app that reviews the most popular products in the vitamin and dietary supplements categories to provide free analytical and labeling data to help consumers make informed choices. LabDoor takes an in-depth look at each product and conducts its own lab testing for purity and label accuracy before grading the products on nutrition value, ingredient safety and expected efficacy, and arriving at an overall ranking, ranging from A to F.
Of the 75 multivitamins reviewed, key study highlights included:
- Multivitamins missed their label claims by an average of 22% and vitamin claims by an average of 29%;
- Gummy/chewable multivitamins contained 54% less vitamins and 70% less minerals compared to standard multivitamins;
- 1 in 3 vitamins contained 10% less vitamin C than the amount claimed;
- Sixteen percent (12 out of the 75 tested) contained at least 30% less vitamin A than their label claims;
- Four Centrum products were all found to contain BHT (Butylated Hydroxytoluene), a controversial preservative that organizations such as the Center for Science in the Public Interest recommend avoiding.
