StarCaps marketer regroups
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
In addition to voluntarily recalling its StarCaps weight-loss supplement, Balanced Health Products ceased working with the ingredient supplier and contract manufacturer linked to a batch tainted with the prescription diuretic bumetanide, says the firm's attorney, Marc Ullman. The response reflects the firm's accountability, and answers accusations that the adulteration is an indication that the regulation of dietary supplement products is lax, Ullman maintains. Representatives of National Football League players suspended when they tested positive for bumetanide blamed the loose regulation of the supplement industry for adulteration and, in turn, their positive tests (1"The Tan Sheet" Dec. 1, 2008, In Brief). Bumetanide is banned by the NFL because it may mask steroid use. Ullman said, "If it reflects on the industry, it is that the company performed the tests and started the recall." The New York City-based firm plans to reformulate the product but has not set a timetable for a re-launch, he says