Photo via Getty Images
Health shop owner sued
for bad diet supplements
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
A Flushing supplement
shop owner is in hot water
for allegedly making
and selling poor quality
dietary supplements.
The complaint states that
Helen Chian and Jim Chao,
president and manager
of Confidence USA Inc.,
allegedly make and distribute
more than adulterated 50
dietary supplements under
brand names that include
Confidence USA, American
Best, USA Natural and The
Herbal Store.
Officials say that Chian
also owns The Herbal Store,
located at 42-35 Main St., Unit
1C in Flushing, where they
sell the products in question.
“Millions of Americans
take dietary supplements and
trust that these products are
safe,” stated U.S. Attorney
Richard P. Donoghue of
the Eastern District of
New York on May 23. “This
Office is committed to
protecting those consumers
and holding dietary
supplement manufacturers
and distributors to current
safety standards. Today’s
filing demonstrates that we
will take action to enforce
those standards and keep the
public safe.”
The complaint seeks to
file a permanent injunction
against Chian and Chao
that would keep them
from marketing dietary
supplements without
following current good
manufacturing practices.
During multiple inspections
by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA),
Chian and Chao allegedly
failed to verify the identity
of each dietary ingredient
used in the manufacture of
their supplements, as well as
whether or not their products
met specifications for purity,
strength, composition and
contamination limits.
“Dietary supplement
makers put consumers’
health at risk by
distributing products
without first verifying that
those products actually
are what they claim to be,”
stated Assistant Attorney
General Jody Hunt of the
Department of Justice’s Civil
Division. “The Department
of Justice will continue to
work with the FDA to make
sure that dietary supplement
manufacturers meet the
legal standards necessary
to ensure the quality of
such products.”
According to the
complaint, the FDA
previously issued a warning
letter to Confidence USA in
2011 regarding deficiencies
at the company. United
States Marshals had also
seized certain Confidence
USA products in connection
with a 2012 complaint
alleging that the products
were adulterated.
Dietary supplements that
are not prepared, packed
and held in conformance
with current good
manufacturing practices are
adulterated in violation of
the Federal Food, Drug, and
Cosmetic Act.
“Ensuring product
integrity is a priority for
the FDA,” stated Melinda
Plaisier, Associate
Commissioner for Regulatory
Affairs at the Food and Drug
Administration. “Consumers
should be able to expect that
the dietary supplements
they purchase meet quality
standards and contain only
what they are supposed to, in
the correct amounts. The FDA
will continue to take swift
action against companies
that sell adulterated
dietary supplements.”
Reach reporter Emily
Davenport by email at
edavenport@qns.com or by
phone at (718) 224-5863 ext. 236.
Katz against CP Shelter
Residents question why BP didn’t voice opposition sooner
Queens Borough President Melinda Katz Photo: Mark Hallum/QNS
BY JENNA BAGCAL
Queens Borough President
and district attorney
candidate Melinda Katz came
out against the College Point
shelter in a letter addressed
to Mayor Bill de Blasio. But
some neighborhood residents
wonder why she didn’t speak
out sooner.
In the May 14 letter, Katz
expressed her concerns about
the Department of Homeless
Services (DHS) shelter plan
for 127-03 20th Ave. She
urged the mayor and DHS
to “explore other potential
locations” for the 200-bed
men’s shelter.
“This location is simply
deficient in the requisite
resources and infrastructure
necessary to help individuals
stabilize their lives and regain
sustainable dependance,”
Katz wrote in the letter.
She cited a lack of
transportation and health
care services as well as the
four nearby schools with
“close to 3,000 children” as
her top reasons against the
shelter. She also mentioned
that “while the aim of keeping
homeless individuals closer to
home is laudable, it remains
unclear how many of the 200
individuals would actually
be from Community District
7, let alone from Queens.
Members of A Better
College Point Facebook
group criticized Katz for her
belated response to their
“solutions not shelters” fight.
One person claimed that the
letter came after community
members filed a lawsuit
against the city and that
Katz waited to publicize her
concerns to coincide with her
district attorney campaign.
“And she wants to march
in our Memorial Day
Parade to drum up votes
because she’s running for
Queens DA. We have been
trying to get her to support
the ‘solutions no shelters’
cause for months. She was
invited to all our protests
and never responded,” said
Cathleen Shannon.
“Helping after the fact is
lip service. Another one that
knew what was going on,”
said Damon Baumann.
But some, like Sal Pezzino,
said that despite the timing,
Katz’s support is a point in
the community’s favor.
“Her support however
gotten is still important
and the letter seemed very
strongly worded letter. The
fact that every single one of
our representatives now is
against the shelter is a win,”
said Pezzino.
The mayor’s “Turning
the Tide on Homelessness”
plan seeks to end the use
of all 360 cluster and hotel
sites citywide, including the
ones in Queens. According
to DHS, the borough would
have the capacity to shelter
approximately 5,300 homeless
New Yorkers once these sites
are closed.
“As we implement our
borough-based approach, we
are ending the use of all cluster
sites and commercial hotel
facilities citywide, including
the two commercial hotel
facilities in this Community
District, and distributing
new high-quality facilities
more equitably across the
five boroughs. This highquality
facility will offer
200 men from Queens the
opportunity to be sheltered
in their home borough, closer
to their support networks
and communities they called
home as they get back on
their feet,” said DHS.
In addition to Katz,
Councilmen Paul Vallone and
Dan Rosenthal and Senator
John Liu have openly voiced
their opposition to the shelter
in letters and at communityorganized
rallies.
QNS reached out to Katz’s
office, but representatives
declined to comment for
the story.
Reach reporter Jenna
Bagcal by email at jbagcal@
qns.com or by phone at (718)
224-5863 ext. 214.
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