Justice Department targets dietary supplement makers

WASHINGTON, Nov. 18 (UPI) -- Federal investigators announced charges against Dallas-based USPlabs LLC as part of a nationwide crackdown on dietary supplements companies accused of making fraudulent claims.

USPlabs, maker of workout and weight-loss supplements like Jack3d and OxyElite Pro, was singled out in a U.S. Department of Justice statement Tuesday, which said civil and criminal cases against more than 100 manufacturers and marketers of dietary supplements have been launched. An 11-count indictment charges executives at the Dallas company with various counts of unlawful sale of dietary supplements.

The indictment says certain ingredients identified as natural plant extracts in the supplements were actually made in Chinese chemical laboratories. Investigators accused the defendants of being aware the use of some ingredients in the product could lead to liver toxicity.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission filed another lawsuit against Florida-based Sunrise Nutraceuticals, accusing the company of falsely claiming its product, Elimidrol, was "guaranteed to work" for those experiencing opiate withdrawal.

The dietary supplements industry has been under fire by government agencies in recent months. Twelve state attorneys general Congress to investigate the industry in April.

Retailers Walmart, GNC, Target and Walgreens were ordered by the New York state Attorney General's office to stop the sale of some supplements after tests showed they did not contain herbal ingredients advertised as elements of the products.

More than half of adult Americans -- an estimated 150 million people -- use dietary supplements, the Council for Responsible Nutrition says.