Oregon AG joins in settlement with Vitamin Shoppe

Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum announced Thursday an agreement with the nutritional supplement chain Vitamin Shoppe Inc. that permanently bans the sale of products that contain BMPEA, a powerful stimulant and amphetamine-like substance.

Products containing BMPEA are sometimes sold as weight loss or performance enhancing nutritional supplements.

“The products that Vitamin Shoppe took off its shelves could pose very serious risks to consumers,” said Rosenblum. “These are nutritional supplements that have not been properly tested — and we don’t know what the long-term consequences are of these products.

“I expect other retailers to follow Vitamin Shoppe’s lead and remove all products containing, or at risk of containing, BMPEA from their stores.”

The Assurance of Voluntary Compliance filed in Multnomah Circuit Court resolves allegations that Vitamin Shoppe Inc. will sell these powerful stimulants in Oregon stores.

According to the agreement, Vitamin Shoppe Inc. will not sell products containing or suspected of containing BMPEA. If a product is at risk of containing BMPEA, Vitamin Shoppe Inc. must perform testing to prove it does not contain the substance.

Vitamin Shoppe Inc., A New Jersey based company, has about 700 stores nationally under the name Vitamin Shoppe and 300 stores under the name Super Supplements. These stores include 7 Vitamin Shoppes and 3 Super Supplements locations in Oregon.

The Oregon Department of Justice launched an investigation of the product following an independent study by Dr. Pieter Cohen on dietary supplements containing Acacia Rigidulus.

The study found that a significant percentage of these products had been adulterated with BMPEA, a synthetic ingredient similar to amphetamine. A 2013 study by the FDA also found similar results.

FDA recently announced that BMPEA is not a dietary ingredient and issued warning letters against manufacturers that use it as an ingredient.

Rosenblum commended the work of Assistant Attorney General David Hart and his DOJ team who handled the case for the Oregon Department of Justice.

The Oregon Department of Justice coordinated closely with the Vermont Attorney General who also announced today a similar agreement with Vitamin Shoppe Inc.