Companies Receive Warning From FDA
Concerns Surround Dietary Supplements
By Amy Shipley
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, March 17, 2006; E05
Four companies distributing steroids in over-the-counter dietary supplements face possible criminal charges and regulatory action if they do not take steps to correct the violations by late next week, the Food and Drug Administration said in letters sent to the companies last Thursday.
The warning letters represented the FDA's first public action in its investigation into steroids in dietary supplements, which was prompted by a story in The Washington Post last October that uncovered five designer steroids in five readily available dietary supplements marketed by four companies. A later story revealed another such steroid in a different product by a fifth company.
The fact that the FDA letters mentioned only two of the steroids and one of the five companies raises the possibility of more letters or further action, but an agency spokesman said Wednesday it was the FDA's policy not to comment on pending investigations. Most of the companies cited in The Post piece announced around the time the story ran that they were discontinuing steroid products.
The letters come at a time of heightened scrutiny on the dietary supplement industry and renewed interest in steroids in sports with the recent publication of a book that alleges that San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds used of steroids and other drugs.
Also last week, Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.) chaired a full hearing of the Government Reform Committee on the regulation of dietary supplements that was spurred in part by The Post story as well as the committee's yearlong investigation into steroids in Major League Baseball and professional sports.
Meanwhile, in late February, a prominent consultant and writer in the dietary supplement industry, Bruce *******, was arrested in Canton, Mass., and charged with possession and intent to distribute anabolic steroids. *******, a consultant to Gaspari Nutrition, one of the companies mentioned in The Post's investigation, pleaded not guilty.
And Patrick Arnold, whom federal investigators allege made the steroids at the center of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO) scandal that ensnared Bonds and dozens of other well-known athletes, operates the Illinois-based dietary supplement company Proviant Technologies.
The FDA letters charged two companies -- Anabolic Resources of Gilbert, Ariz., and Supplements To Go of Cincinnati -- with distributing Anabolic Xtreme's Superdrol. Legal Gear of Brighton, Mich., and Affordable Supplements of Wichita, Kan., were charged with distributing Legal Gear's Methyl 1-P.
Don Catlin of the UCLA Olympic Analytical Laboratory analyzed Superdrol, Methyl 1-P and four other products for The Post last summer and declared that all contained anabolic steroids. The Post reimbursed Catlin for the cost of the testing.
Catlin later turned over information about the substances to the FDA at the agency's request.
The FDA letters cast doubt on the legitimacy of at least some claims by companies that they were pulling their steroid products from the market. In its letter to Anabolic Resources, the FDA noted that the company's Web site stated that Superdrol was "discontinued" even while it remained commercially available.
Three sources with ties to the industry said some dietary supplements containing steroids continued to circulate before last week's letters went out -- some openly -- but that many companies abandoned the production and distribution of such products last fall to avoid possible criminal sanction.
One company official also described the FDA warning letters as a relative slap on the wrist given the major action -- such as federal indictments -- some feared would result from the agency's investigation.
The letters, authored by Joseph R. Baca, compliance director at the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, charged the four companies with distributing drugs rather than dietary supplements and stated that they had 15 days in which to notify the FDA of specific corrective action taken.
fuck this shit, let us lift in peace, and supplement as we want.
Fuckers, and arnolds ass trying to be all goody on this subject as well. In cali.
Some how a non steroid law comming from a guy who started juicing at 15 doesnt seem convincing at all.
Posted by: Guru
I cant stand this bitch, shes pissing me off!!!!
Posted by: Prince
well, it certainly is no surprise, I just can't believe how long it is taking them to do something about all of the steroids on the market.
Posted by: 1Fast400
I'll be honest, doesn't bother me that much. So much stuff is quasi legal these days. You never know what is/isn't legal. I just don't want to get sued over some idiot taking something. I'm on the fence on this one.
While I hate amy more than most, in this case she just reprinted info she found.
Posted by: Guru
Originally Posted by 1Fast400
I'll be honest, doesn't bother me that much. So much stuff is quasi legal these days. You never know what is/isn't legal. I just don't want to get sued over some idiot taking something. I'm on the fence on this one.
While I hate amy more than most, in this case she just reprinted info she found.
TRue but this woman is an asshole. She should stay away from the forums.
Posted by: BigPapaPump68
The hell with them, WOW the FDA is taking this shit off the shelves. Oh well, its funny how they go after these light steroids on the shelves because they cant stop all of the people from using the real shit. They just have to make it look like they do something, and not just sit there lazy asses down and get paid a shit load of money. The hell with them
Posted by: Dale Mabry
So they blocked out Kneller's name but not Arnold's?
I don't see what the problem is, they banned this shit you had to know it was coming.
Don Catlin of the UCLA Olympic Analytical Laboratory analyzed Superdrol, Methyl 1-P and four other products for The Post last summer and declared that all contained anabolic steroids.
"...which all remain legal unscheduled substances."
I guess they forgot that part of the sentence. When someone tells a 1-sided story and omits important details, that is NOT REPORTING.
Posted by: FishOrCutBait
not an lmao to me. its retards like this that take away the option for me to use chemicals such as superdrol, or other prosteroids when my time comes. Thanks, goofoffs!
Posted by: gogo
Originally Posted by FishOrCutBait
not an lmao to me. its retards like this that take away the option for me to use chemicals such as superdrol, or other prosteroids when my time comes. Thanks, goofoffs!
Originally Posted by 1Fast400
