New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Daniel Fabricant, PhD, CEO of the Natural Products Association, have issued a joint statement:

“We share a common objective of ensuring herbal products bought by consumers are authentic, pure, and sold in full compliance with consumer protection laws. Anyone who buys an herbal supplement should be able to do so with full knowledge of what is in the product and have complete confidence that every precaution was taken to ensure its authenticity and purity. 

“While no single test or technology alone can provide complete confidence to consumers, we support the application of DNA barcoding technology as part of a multi-faceted approach to assuring authenticity and identifying substitution. This includes testing herbal/botanical ingredients prior to extraction in circumstances where DNA Barcode is available for the relevant species.

“Together, we look forward to jointly working with major manufacturers and retailers of herbal supplements to promote a model for product safety, authenticity, and transparency in this industry. We view this dialogue as a positive step in resolving our differences and we are hopeful that we can work in collaboration to enhance confidence and safe access for consumers.”