Hi Sarah,
Yes, both articles refer to the brouhaha the New York State Attorney General has started. The bottom line is that the media went along because it's a headline that incites, but from a technical point of view, it was wrongly done. To add to the problems with barcode testing, the individual who did the tests lacks expertise in the area of supplement testing. See the links I added to my earlier post.
I subscribe to
ConsumerLab, an independent entity that performs regular analysis of many supplements. (I do not like the way it operates for several reasons, but I do not believe those issues have any effect on the reports I receive.) ConsumerLab does not rely on barcode scanning; it tests the supplements in a properly staffed and equipped lab. The
American Botanical Council also keeps up in this area because it has a vested interest in herbal purity.
USP and
NSF do independent testing, and if you find their label on a supplement, it means the supplement has gone through stringent testing. There are others but I don't have time to look for them all right now.
It boggles the mind that the Attorney General ignored their analyses in favor of a substandard test by a non-expert. Some of the companies targeted have been respected manufacturers for longer than I've been using supplements, and they've all been spot checked many times over the years. Schneiderman has made life inconvenient for NY supplement users, but they can still purchase all these supplements if they head to New Jersey (or any other state), because none of the other states have followed suit.