Fifty-two percent of multivitamins recently selected for testing by ConsumerLab.com, White Plains, NY, were found to be contaminated with lead, unable to properly break apart, or to contain significantly more or less ingredient than claimed. Results were reported on the company’s website, www.consumerlab.com. Among the  21 products for adults and children that ConsumerLab.com independently selected and tested, only 10 met their claims and other quality standards. Some of the most serious problems were:

•        A women’s multivitamin was contaminated with 15.3 micrograms of lead per daily serving. This is more than 10 times the amount of lead permitted without a warning label in California—the only state to regulate lead in supplements—and several times the normal daily exposure to lead. Lead at this level may not in itself be toxic in adults, but lead is stored in the body and unnecessary exposure should be avoided. This product should not be shared with children, as they are susceptible to lead poisoning at levels as low as 6 micrograms per day.

•        A children’s vitamin contained 216% of its labeled amount of vitamin A, potentially delivering amounts in excess of those tolerable in children up to eight years old. The product contained 5,400 IU of vitamin A in the retinol form in a daily serving of three gummy characters. The upper tolerable level (UL) set by the Institute of Medicine is 2,000 IU for children one to three years of age and 3,000 IU for those four to eight years old. Excess vitamin A in the retinol form is of concern as it may lead to bone weakening.

•        Three multivitamins did not fully break apart in simulated gastric fluid, including a women’s, a men’s and a one for seniors. Such products may pass through the body without being fully utilized.

•        One multivitamin contained none of its claimed vitamin A. Four others lacked their full expected amounts of vitamin A or folic acid, coming up short by 15% to 46%.

Multivitamins are the most popular supplement in the U.S., with sales growing 8.4% to $4.16 billion in 2005, according to Nutrition Business Journal.

“Multivitamin and multimineral supplements are often touted as insurance against nutritional deficiencies, but problems with multivitamins appear to be common,” said Tod Cooperman, MD, president, ConsumerLab.com. He added, “Compounding any problem is the fact that a multivitamin may be taken for years.”

Brands included in the new report are AARP, Centrum, Dr. Fuhrman Pixie-Vites, Flintstones, Floradix (Salus-Haus), Healthy Moments Vitamin Strips, Kirkland (Costco), Member’s Mark (Sam’s), Nature’s Bounty, Nature’s Plus, NOW, Nutrilite, One A Day (Bayer), One Source (Perrigo), Pet-Tabs, Pharmanex, Pregnancy Plus – Dr. Grunebaum, Puritan’s Pride, Swanson, The Greatest Vitamin in the World, The Vitamin Shoppe, 21st Century Pet Nutrition, TwinLab (IdeaSphere), Vitamin World, WEIL, WinFuel and Yummi Bears (Hero Nutritionals). Products include tablets, caplets, capsules, chewables, liquids, strips, gummies and powders.