The American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) issued a statement regarding a Feb. 2 article published in The Washington Post titled “Can Supplements Reduce Cancer Risk?”
AHPA said the author referenced an investigation targeting herbal supplements that was built on a retracted study and repeatedly asserts the dietary supplement industry is “not well regulated.”
In response, AHPA Chief Science Officer Holly E. Johnson, PhD issued a letter to the editor detailing the retraction of the study that served as the foundation for the cited investigation and has requested the publication acknowledge the missing context.
The study in question was originally published in 2013 by Dr. Steven Newmaster, a botanist and professor at the University of Guelph. The study’s appearance in The New York Times led to an “infamous” 2015 investigation by the New York Attorney General that alleged many herbal supplements didn’t contain the herbs listed on their labels.
In July 2024, BMC Medicine retracted Newmaster’s study due to “data fabrication.” The University of Guelph determined the investigation was built on findings from a “scientifically invalid” use of DNA barcoding to test herbal products.
AHPA also refuted the author’s repeated claims that dietary supplements are “not well regulated” by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
“The assertion that dietary supplements lack robust oversight is a persistent myth that ignores the comprehensive federal framework already in place,” said AHPA President and CEO Graham Rigby. “Dietary supplements are strictly regulated as a category of food under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, as amended by the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA). To suggest otherwise overlooks the robust requirements that responsible manufacturers meet every day to ensure the products Americans use and trust are safe and accurately labeled.”
For more information, visit www.ahpa.org.
