Oregon Attorney General says GNC sold spiked products

The dietary supplements allegedly contain the illegal ingredient picamilon and BMPEA.

GNC Holdings violated the Oregon Unlawful Trade Practices ACT (UTPA) by misrepresenting a few of its products as lawful dietary supplements, according to the complaint of the Attorney General.

As per the claim of the attorney general, the company has sold more than 3,000 products with picamilon in Oregon between January 2013 and June 2015. Rosenblum asserts, “When Oregonians buy a dietary supplement, they deserve to know that the ingredients in the products are safe and comply with the law”.

There was a study published this past May that examined the possibility that a workout supplement called Jacked Power, which contained BMPEA, cased a hemorrahgic stroke that caused the death of a 53-year old woman in Sweden. The company also said when the FDA banned the substances, “GNC promptly took action to remove from sale all products containing those ingredients”, it said in a statement Thursday.

In particular, pills with names like “Turbo Shred” and “Meltdown Peach Mango” illegally contained the synthetic chemical picamilon and the amphetamine-like stimulant BMPEA.

A Vitamin Shoppe spokeswoman said the retail chain removed all products containing picamilon from its stores and website “as soon as the FDA declared that picamilon was not a dietary ingredient”.

A court case has been filed against GNC.

Earlier this year, the FDA warned five companies to stop selling supplements containing BMPEA as part of an ongoing effort to clamp down on potentially risky weight-loss and body-building products.

The Food and Drug Administration assisted in the investigation.

Meanwhile, synthetic drug BMPEA was believed to be found naturally in the acacia rigidula (AR) plant.

GNC said the claims in the lawsuit lacked merit and the retailer meant to mount a vigorous defense.