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About ConsumerLab.com

WHITE PLAINS, NY, January 24, 2000 — As part of its ongoing independent evaluation of health, wellness, and nutrition products sold in the U.S., ConsumerLab.com announced that by year-end it is to have independently tested most of the popular brands of dietary supplements sold in the U.S. Approximately $14 billion of dietary supplements are sold each year but the quality of these products is not well regulated by the government.

Supplements being tested in ConsumerLab.com's Product Reviews include echinacea, calcium, chondroitin, garlic, ginseng, Ginkgo biloba, glucosamine, SAMe, saw palmetto, St. John's wort, vitamin B complex, vitamins C and E, and multivitamins. Product Reviews are being released on a monthly basis at www.consumerlab.com and other Web sites licensed by ConsumerLab.com. On Monday, January 31, results for saw palmetto will be reported. Evaluations of both glucosamine and chondroitin products will be released in February. Testing of Ginkgo biloba products were reported late last year and will be updated at the end of this year.

"Our mission is simple: We help consumers understand the standards by which these products may be judged and tell them which products meet these standards," said Tod Cooperman, M.D., president of ConsumerLab.com. "Our evaluation of Ginkgo biloba indicated that about one-quarter of products tested did not meet the quality standard. Preliminary results for other types of supplements suggest that this kind of finding may, unfortunately, be common," he added.

For its Product Reviews, Consumerlab.com purchases products from traditional and online retailers, direct mail distributors, and multi-level marketing companies. The contents of products are then tested for their quality on parameters that may include ingredient composition, formulation, bioavailability, and purity.

ConsumerLab.com is an online provider of consumer information and independent evaluations of health, wellness, and nutrition products. The company is privately held and headquartered in White Plains, New York. It is not affiliated with companies that manufacture, distribute, or sell consumer products. Parties interested in licensing content may contact Lisa Sabin, Vice President for Business Development, at lisa.sabin@consumerlab.com. More information about Consumerlab.com is available at www.consumerlab.com.



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