Iron Supplements Meet Claims

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.ConsumerLab.com revisited the category of iron supplements, last tested in 2008; in contrast to the previous round of testing, in which 20 percent of products failed to meet quality standards, all 17 products listed in the new report contained the listed amount of iron and did not exceed contamination limits for lead. However, the organization noted there was a wide variation in product pricing, with the cost for a 25 mg dose of iron varying from $0.02 to over $2more than 100-fold difference. The products also contained a wide variance in the forms of iron used and suggested dosages.

ConsumerLab includes the names of companies involved in the reviews in its general news releases, but doesnt indicate which ones passed or failed testing, nor the levels of active ingredients in the products. However, the reports with complete findings are available for purchase from ConsumerLab.

The report on iron supplements provides findings for 10 supplements randomly selected for testing, six additional products that passed the same testing under ConsumerLab.coms Voluntary Certification Program, whereby companies can pay to have their products tested by ConsumerLab, and one supplement similar to one that passed testing. The report also includes direct comparisons and quality ratings of the iron supplements; pros and cons of different forms of iron; iron dosages for specific applications; and cautions and potential drug interactions.