GNC Lawsuit Alleges ‘Super Magnesium’ Supplements Contain Far Less Magnesium Than Advertised

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A proposed class action lawsuit alleges GNC has misleadingly misrepresented its “Super Magnesium” dietary supplements in that the “misbranded” products contain far less elemental magnesium than advertised.

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The 22-page GNC lawsuit says that although the retailer touts on product labels that a two-capsule serving of the supplement contains 400 mg of elemental magnesium, a serving, as revealed by independent testing, actually contains only around 152 mg of magnesium.

Specifically, testing has revealed that a serving of GNC’s Super Magnesium supplement, which is touted as offering 95 percent of the recommended daily value of magnesium, contains approximately 5.85 percent elemental magnesium by mass, the filing says. Given that two caplets of the supplement together weigh roughly 2,600 mg, a single two-caplet serving of the supplement contains only 152 mg of elemental magnesium, the case tallies.

According to the complaint, the amount of magnesium found in GNC’s Super Magnesium supplement is material to a reasonable consumer when making a purchasing decision, and GNC has violated the law by selling a misbranded supplement bearing a label that contains a false or misleading statement.

“Federal regulations also dictate the manner in which Defendant must label its product and the methods it must use to determine the magnesium contents of its product,” the suit reads. “Defendant failed to ensure the accuracy of its Magnesium Supplements’ labels in accordance with these federal regulations.”

The lawsuit relays that the Federal Trade Commission in 2016 announced GNC had entered into an agreement with the Justice Department to reform its practices “related to potentially unlawful dietary ingredients and dietary supplements” and further agreed to voluntarily improve the quality and purity of dietary supplements. 

The case adds that, given GNC’s claim that it regularly tests its products and verifies the statements on product labels, the retailer knew or should have known that the amount of magnesium in the supplements at issue was significantly less than advertised.

“Misbranded nutritional supplements cannot legally be manufactured, held, advertised, distributed or sold,” the complaint states. “Thus, misbranded nutritional supplements have no economic value and are worthless as a matter of law, and purchasers of misbranded nutritional supplements are entitled to a restitution refund of the purchase price of the misbranded nutritional supplements.”

The GNC lawsuit looks to cover all persons in the United States who bought GNC’s Super Magnesium supplements in the last four years.

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