Port Washington, New York (PRWEB) August 26, 2014 -- Parker Waichman LLP, Seeger Weiss LLP and Barbat, Mansour & Suciu PLLC have filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of consumers who purchased the protein supplement product, Body Fortress Super Advanced Whey Protein. The lawsuit was filed on August 25, 2014 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York (Case No. 1:14-cv-05030). United States Nutrition; Inc., Healthwatchers, Inc.; and parent company, NBTY, Inc. have been named as Defendants.
According to the Complaint, Body Fortress Super Advanced Whey Protein does not have as much protein as claimed on the label because the Defendants have allegedly engaged in “protein-spiking,” a practice that is also known as “amino-spiking” or “nitrogen-spiking.” This is a process by which manufacturers add cheaper, free form amino acids and non-protein ingredients to boost a protein product’s nitrogen content while reducing protein manufacturing costs. Since a common protein content test relies on nitrogen as a measure of protein, this alleged act deceives customers into believing they are receiving more whey protein than is actually contained in the product.
According to Parker Waichman LLP, a number of protein supplement customers are being cheated out of a product they purchased. “Manufacturers that engage in protein-spiking deceive customers and mislead them into believing they are receiving a product with more protein than it actually contains,” said Gary Falkowitz, Managing Attorney at the firm. “By filing this class action lawsuit on behalf of Body Fortress consumers, our firm intends to hold manufacturers responsible for their false claims.”
On April 1, 2014, the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) rebuked the act of amino-spiking. The organization, which is comprised of dietary supplement manufacturers, defines protein as “a chain of amino acids connected by peptide bonds” and states that protein calculations should only be based on this definition. “Non-protein nitrogen-containing substances” should not be included, AHPA indicated.
According to the lawsuit, whey protein is a complete protein source that contains all of the essential amino acids needed to build protein-based compounds, such as muscle tissue, skin, fingernails, hair, and enzymes. The lawsuit states that amino acids, although the building blocks of protein, do not offer these same benefits.
Body Fortress’ label makes misleading claims about its protein content, the lawsuit alleges. The product labeling claims to have 30 grams of protein per serving, but this number allegedly also includes free form amino acids, including Glycine, Threonline, L-Glutamine, Leucine, Valine, and Isoleucine; the non-protein amino acid, Taurine; and the non-amino acid compound, Creatine Monohydrate. According to the lawsuit, testing reveals that the actual content per serving of whey protein is 21.5 grams once the “protein-spiking” agents are removed.
Parker Waichman LLP continues to offer free lawsuit consultations to consumers who believe they have been subject to protein spiking. If you or someone you know purchased a protein supplement that may have been spiked with free form amino acids and other non-protein ingredients, please visit the firm's protein spiking page at yourlawyer.com. Free case evaluations are also available by calling 1-800-LAW-INFO (1-800-529-4636).
Gary Falkowitz, Parker Waichman LLP, http://yourlawyer.com, +1 (800) 529-4636, [email protected]
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