From The September 2000 Issue of Nutrition Science News

Ginseng Laced With Pesticides

White Plains, N.Y.—A private company that tests supplements off the shelf says that eight of 22 brands of ginseng products contained high levels of pesticides or lead. The contaminants were found in products labeled "Korean ginseng" that, for example, contained levels of quintozene and hexachlorobenzene as much as 20 times higher than allowed by the U.S. Pharmacopeia.

The company, consumerlab.com, based here, reports only nine of 22 products tested passed the contaminants review set up by the company. Also, eight of the 22 products, including three that were contaminated, did not meet the consumerlab.com standards for levels of ginsenosides, a marker for the quality of ginseng.