Government tests continue to reveal dangerous contaminants and poor quality control in some supplements. The Gugliotta report notes that in 1998, California investigators found that nearly one-third of 260 imported Asian herbals were either spiked with drugs not listed on the label or contained lead, arsenic, or mercury. This February, state officials discovered five Chinese herbals that contained powerful diabetes drugs. In the absence of regulatory standards, one can never be sure how powerful a supplement is because the actual potency of the pill often doesn't match the legend on the label. Some have been found to contain no active ingredient at all.
Children are also at risk of illness from unwise or accidental supplement use.
The baby suffered permanent brain damage. Bottles are not required to have childproof caps, again unlike pharmaceuticals, thereby increasing the likelihood of accidental poisoning. The Post's survey found that poison control centers in many states are reporting markedly increased numbers of adverse reactions to herbal supplements. But experts assert that they are only seeing the tip of the iceberg. The American Association of Poison Control Centers, by contrast, received 6,914 reports on supplements in 1998 alone, including 1,369 cases involving treatment in a health care facility.