ConsumerLab.com

ConsumerLab.com was founded in 1999 by Tod Cooperman M.D., a graduate of the Boston University School of Medicine.

Products and services

ConsumerLab.com reports that its main revenue is from online subscriptions. Other revenue-generating products include books, survey reports and the sale of licenses to publish its proprietary information. Tests are not conducted by ConsumerLab.com, but are contracted to independent laboratories. A 2000 New York Times article reports one of the laboratories is Alpha Chemical and Biomedical Laboratories in Petaluma, CA.

Products to be tested are purchased directly from retail stores, online retailers, mail-order catalogs, or multi-level marketing companies. Products are not accepted from manufacturers, and are retested every few years. A 2004 Journal of the Medical Library Association review noted that "approximately half of the [laboratory test results] reports indicate the date the review was posted". For a fee, ConsumerLab.com offers a voluntary certification program. Products that pass the certification can use the "CL Seal of Approval" for which there is a licensing fee. Vendors of brand name products named in its reports can, for an advertising fee, be listed in a "Where to Buy" section which is clearly marked as advertising.

Research and Publications

In the analysis "[A Multi-Year Heavy Metal Analysis of 72 Dark Chocolate and Cocoa Products in the USA](https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2024.1366231)," published in Frontiers in Nutrition (2024), researchers from ConsumerLab.com and George Washington University analyzed lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and arsenic (As) in cocoa products tested from 2014 to 2022. The research revealed that 43% of products exceeded California's Proposition 65 levels for Pb, and 35% for Cd, although 97.2% met less stringent US FDA standards for Pb. Products labeled as "organic" were more likely to have higher levels of both lead and cadmium. This underscores the need for vigilant heavy metal monitoring in cocoa products, especially those labeled organic, to ensure consumer safety.

Government and legal interactions

In January 2005, the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), a "trade association representing dietary supplement and functional food manufacturers and ingredient suppliers," registered a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission against ConsumerLab.com. It alleged the "entire business model" of ConsumerLab.com "represents an egregious form of consumer fraud and deception." CRN requested the FTC to require ConsumerLab.com to disclose all test results, identify the labs that perform its tests, and change its company name to avoid implying that it does its own testing. On 15 March 2005, the FTC stated: "staff is not recommending agency action at this time," and no subsequent action has occurred.

On 9 March 2006, Dr. Tod Cooperman spoke at a House of Representatives Committee on Government Reform hearing on the Regulation of Dietary Supplements. In his statement, he said the most common problem identified from their tests were "lack of ingredient in a supplement or a very poor quality ingredient in a supplement" (i.e., potency) and "contamination with lead and other heavy metals and pesticides" (i.e., adulteration). On 26 May 2010, Dr. Cooperman reported similar problems in a panel statement to a "Dietary Supplements: What Seniors Need To Know" hearing at the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging.

ConsumerLab.com filed suit against CRN alleging CRN's publication of its complaint letter to FTC was defamation, infliction of intentional harm, and six other causes. In May 2006, the New York Supreme Court dismissed this suit for failure to state a claim for all but the defamation allegation. The dispute was eventually settled and dismissed.

On 1 June 2017, Dr. Mark Anderson spoke at the National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements Research Practicum.