PITTSBURGH (AP) -- GNC Holdings Inc. has destroyed 1,542 cases of nutritional supplements in the Pittsburgh area to settle a complaint filed by federal prosecutors.
GNC operates nutrition stores and believes the products containing a geranium extract known as DMAA are safe. But in April the FDA announced that the supplement can cause high blood pressure and heart attacks, and prosecutors filed a complaint last month demanding the destruction of products held at GNC's Pittsburgh-area warehouse.
GNC spokesman Greg Miller says in an email that a distributor has agreed to reimburse GNC for the destroyed products. He also says that the products in question, Jack3D and OxyELITE Pro, are widely available over the Internet.
In early July manufacturer USPLabs agreed to destroy the inventory of those products at its Dallas, Texas facility.