- Fix the product problem
- Ignore repeated communications
- Discontinue the product
- Threaten litigation if we made the information public
As can be seen from the published lists below, several companies failed for both CoQ10 and for SAM-e. In some cases, Amazon has discontinued the offering of the NOW named products, but the brand name products are still carried on the brand website. There is a current class action filed late last year in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida (Civil Action No.: 1:19-cv-22702-KMW) against several of these companies:
- Vitamins Because LLC
- CT Health Solutions LLC
- We Like Vitamins LLC
- GMax Central LLC
- ASquared Brands, LLC
The current environment, unfortunately, supports inconsistency, poor gatekeeping, non-existent or erratic barriers to entry and a marketplace and channel that truly exemplifies the statement “caveat emptor”—“buyer beware.”
https://s3.images-iherb.com/cms/pdf/SAM-e_Test_Results_March2020_v1.pdf
We sincerely hope that this will be a developing story in some form or fashion. For now, it is our collective industry responsibility to look at the facts presented, the behaviors depicted by both brands and ‘gatekeepers’ and deliberately and pointedly ask ‘what is wrong with this picture?’
Note: The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and contributor(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher and editors of WholeFoods Magazine.