HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill., Oct. 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In sharp contrast to the 78% of consumer products which failed quality testing, ConsumerLab.com anonymously purchased, tested and recently approved the herbal supplement milk thistle sold by CNCA, a leading national distributor of premium dietary supplements designed to enhance immune system function and promote general health and wellness.
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"ConsumerLab.com testing showed that CNCA Milk Thistle PRO had 129 percent of the claimed silymarin content," said Paul Van Ness, managing director at CNCA. "Other brands were as low as 20 percent. And our Milk Thistle PRO delivered up to 40 times more of the active ingredient than other approved products."
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Milk thistle contains an active compound called silymarin, which studies suggest helps to support healthy liver function. CNCA volunteered to have its Milk Thistle PRO (http://www.cncahealth.com/milk-thistle.htm) anonymously purchased and tested by ConsumerLab.com, an independent testing company. Milk Thistle Pro was one of only a few products to have "met [its] label claim and ConsumerLab.com's standards for milk thistle supplements..."
"We are very happy our Milk Thistle Pro passed ConsumerLab.com testing," said Van Ness. "But we aren't surprised that it did -- our rigorous testing programs are probably the most stringent in the industry. Nor we were surprised to see that so many products were subpotent and/or contaminated. Contamination and subpotency is a huge, under-recognized problem in the dietary supplement industry."
Consumerlab.com has estimated that one of every four dietary supplements sold are subpotent, contaminated or both. Herbal products, such as Milk Thistle, have an even poorer track record.
"The medical experts at Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) were fully aware of the many quality problems in the supplement industry years ago. They needed products they could recommend with complete confidence -- but couldn't find them. That's why CNCA was created: to provide consistently superior products to healthcare practitioners at CTCA," explained Van Ness.
"Consumerlab.com has done a great job in providing the public with a valuable service by which consumers can objectively compare product quality," continued Van Ness. "We, however, have a much higher standard. Their 78% failure rate was based on only three tests. In contrast, CNCA products are subjected to over 100 rigorous tests for purity, potency and authenticity."
Is all this testing necessary? "Absolutely! In the case of Milk Thistle, for example, we rejected raw material that was contaminated with aflatoxin, a dangerous fungal by-product that is extremely toxic to the liver. Consumerlab.com didn't check for this, the regulations don't require this, but we do it routinely. For us, it is a moral imperative," said Van Ness. "It may make our products a bit more expensive than others, but we believe investing a few more pennies a day in product safety is money well spent."
Committed to providing high-quality nutritional and dietary products that far exceed government standards, CNCA dietary supplements are used in hospitals, pharmacies, and by thousands of people across the U.S.
"We appreciate the recognition from ConsumerLab.com. More consumers are turning to nutritional and dietary supplements for their health and wellness benefits. With more than half the adult US population taking supplements, it's important for consumers to have an independent perspective on the purity and safety of vitamins, herbs and other supplements."
CNCA is committed to providing the safest, most reliable dietary supplements available, based on the principles of purity, pote
