NEWS from CPSC

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

Solgar Company, Inc. Recalls Improperly Packaged Iron Products That Could Cause Serious Illness

PRODUCT: Five iron-containing dietary supplement products manufactured and sold by Solgar Company, Inc. The products are: "Natural Amino Acid Chelated Iron," "Gentle Iron Vegicaps," "Hematinic Formula," "Prenatal Nutrients," and "Trace Elements." Approximately 17,500 bottles of the recalled products were sold in brown glass bottles with yellow screw-on caps between January 1, 1993 and mid-April 1993. The products were sold in health food and nutrition stores nationwide.

PROBLEM: The products were not put in child-resistant packaging as required by the Poison Prevention Packaging Act. Even though the firm and CPSC know of no poisoning incidents due to the Solgar brand iron tablets and capsules, CPSC is aware of many ingestions and at least 11 deaths in 1991 from other iron-containing products.

WHAT TO DO: Consumers with any of the recalled products should immediately return the unused portion of the bottles to the stores where purchased or return the product to Solgar Co., Inc. 410 Ocean Avenue, Lynbrook, NY 11563, Attention: Recall, for a complete refund of the purchase price plus postage.

WASHINGTON, DC --- In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Solgar Company, Inc. of Lynbrook, NY is voluntarily recalling five dietary supplement products containing iron. The products being recalled include all sized bottles of Solgar brand "Natural Amino Acid Chelated Iron," " Gentle Iron Vegicaps," "Hematinic Formula," "Prenatal Nutrients," and "Trace Elements." These five iron-containing products were not put in child-resistant packaging as required by the Poison Prevention Packaging Act. The lack of child-resistant packaging means that a child could easily access and accidentally swallow the iron tablets or capsules. Each bottle of the recalled products contains enough iron that, if consumed by a child at one time, could cause serious illness or death.

The five recalled products were sold in brown glass bottles with yellow screw-on metal caps. Each product comes in several package sizes ranging from 50 to 1000 tablets or capsules per bottle. The bottles' paper labels read, in part:

• "NATURAL AMINO ACID CHELATED* IRON . . . Sugar, Salt and Starch Free . . . VEGETARIAN FORMULA . . . 100 [or 250, 500, 1000] TABLETS . . . Each tablet provides Iron Amino Acid Chelate 300 mg equivalent to elemental Iron 30 mg."
• "GENTLE IRON (IRON BISGLYCINATE) . . . 30 mg . . . NON- CONSTIPATING* . . . VEGETARIAN FORMULA . . . 90 [or 180] VEGICAPS . . . Each vegicap provides 175 mg of Iron Bisglycinate (Ferrochel) equivalent to 30 mg of elemental Iron."
• "HEMATINIC FORMULA . . . CONTAINS THE BLOOD BUILDING FACTORS IRON, LIVER, VITAMIN B-12 & FOLIC ACID PLUS VITAMIN C . . . 100 [or 250] TABLETS . . . Each three tablets provide: Iron (Amino Acid Chelate**) . . . 45 mg, 250% of U.S. RDA."
• "PRENATAL NUTRIENTS . . . Multi-Vitamin & Mineral Formula For Pregnant and Lactating Women . . . VEGETARIAN FORMULA . . . 60 [or 120] TABLETS . . . Four (4) tablets provide: Iron (chelate) . . . 45 mg."
• "TRACE ELEMENTS . . . HYDROLYZED VEGETABLE MINERAL PROTEIN CHELATES AND COMPLEXES . . . VEGETARIAN FORMULA . . . 50 [or 100, 250] TABLETS . . . Each tablet provides: Iron (Hydrolyzed Protein Chelate) . . . 18 mg, 100% U.S. RDA."

All of the bottles also carry the statement "Manufactured by The Solgar Vitamin Co. Inc., Lynbrook, NY 11563, U.S.A." This recall does not include any other products manufactured by Solgar which contain iron, nor does it include any of the above products packaged with the child-resistant white plastic "push-and-turn caps."

Approximately 17,500 bottles of the five recalled iron products were sold to consumers through retail health food and nutrition stores nationwide between January 1, 1993 and mid-April 1993. These products were manufactured and sold by Solgar Co. Inc. for several years.

Consumers should immediately return the unused portions of any bottles of the recalled iron products (including bottles which were purchased before January 1, 1993) to the stores where purchased for a refund of the purchase price. Or, consumers can return the recalled products directly to: Solgar Co., Inc., 410 Ocean Avenue, Lynbrook, NY 11563, Attention: Recall. Consumers will receive a refund, including shipping costs.

Neither Solgar Co., Inc. nor the Commission is aware of any poisoning incidents due to the Solgar brand iron tablets or capsules. However, the Commission is aware of several ingestions and at least 11 deaths in 1991 from other iron-containing products, as reported by the National Association of Poison Control Centers.

CPSC became aware of the packaging problem as a result of its ongoing poison prevention packaging inspection program. CPSC enforces the requirement that any dietary supplement containing an equivalent of 250 mg or more of iron per package must have child-resistant packaging.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is announcing this recall as part of its mission to protect the public from unreasonable risks of injury and death associated with consumer products. The Commission's mission is to reduce the estimated 28.6 million injuries and 21,700 deaths associated each year with the 15,000 different types of consumer products under CPSC's jurisdiction.