In July, 2020, we decided to test a new round of unknown brands on Amazon for the brain supplement phosphatidyl serine. This time we bought three bottles of each and did three different tests on each brand, two by our labs and one by an independent lab. We initially found that many products seemed to be intentionally mislabeled by implying higher potencies on the front of the label, but on the side stating “per 2 capsule serving size”. Next, we found confusing labeling within the Supplements Facts panel, in order to deceive and yet defend against potency testing. Some brands also claimed to be 60-90% lower priced, per gram, than NOW brand on Amazon, so we were certainly suspicious from the beginning. We tested 40 samples in total and found 42% of no-name brands contained less than 10% of label claim! That’s shocking and sad. Yes, less than 10% potency and yet still widely sold on Amazon. 90% of these samples contained less than 85% of label claim and only two of these brands passed 100% label potency test. Once again, NOW shared these assay results with Amazon, the FDA, supplement trade group NPA, and the media to try to force changes and shut down these cheating brands. Meanwhile, what should a consumer do who doesn’t have resources to test potencies like NOW does? My recommendation is “buyer beware” and avoid unknown brands of supplements that you don’t find in natural food stores. Covid-19 Changes the World! On Dec 31, 2019, China reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) a cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan and this was later termed the novel coronavirus. The WHO named this new virus ‘Covid-19’ because it is genetically related to the deadly SARS virus from 2003. The WHO next declared on March 11, 2020 that this new problem is a worldwide pandemic, a term rarely used. It was last used, and overused, in 2009 regarding the H1N1 swine flu, which proved to be not as deadly as the WHO predicted. Within this context, many world governments were intentionally slow to aggressively take action, assuming that this virus would just go away soon enough on its own. The natural foods industry had a seismic shock on March 2, 2020 when the Natural Foods Expo West show cancelled just two days before it was to start. This convention in Anaheim was typically a gigantic event with about 80,000 attendees, including many from overseas. People were in shock that our business lives could be so unsettled, and so quickly. This was before virtually anyone in the U.S. wore a face mask or even limited their travel. Boy did we underestimate the changes that would come! A few days later we learned that our business would be one of the main beneficiaries from this epidemic. Monday March 9, 2020, started a dramatic shock in demand that we could not handle. Demand for that week more than tripled, with many products like zinc, vitamin C and elderberry selling up to a year’s supply in one week. What happened in such a short period of time to cause so much change? On March 1, 2020 there were less than 100 total cases of Covid-19 in the U.S. On March 9, the U.S. reported over 700 cases and 26 deaths. America was changing by the hour and there was no end in sight. When the NBA suspended the basketball season on March 11, everyone knew that life was not about to be normal anytime soon. 2018-2020 131
