http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16655168/

I'm very skeptical about some of these so-called consumer advocacy groups.

This is exactly why I tell people to steer clear of the "cheaper is better" mentality and stop grabbing the least expensive one-a-day they can find. There are dozens of studies that show the same thing that this group found ... many vitamins over- or under- state the content, and what's worse, they use the wrong types and kinds of ingredients. The supplement industry is not regulated and a manufacturer can choose to adhere to food quality standards rather than pharmaceutical standards ... one of my colleagues summed it nicely in their website:

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FOOD GRADE AND PHARMACEUTICAL GRADE?

This is an important question. An example of the difference would be when someone is making a batch of cherry cup cakes. The mixture is put together and a cup full of chopped cherries is added. The mixture is scooped up and placed into cup cakes. However, some cakes may have four pieces of cherry whilst others may only have one This is food grade.

Pharmaceutical grade means that EVERY cupcake MUST have the SAME number of cherries.

This is further described in the following true story:
Many women took folic acid for their pregnancies to AVOID Spina Bifida in their babies, YET, many still produced Spina Bifida babies. Why?
They were taking FOOD GRADE supplements. It has been discovered that there is a variant of up to 35% in folic acid content in FOOD GRADE supplements. Some did not even contain folic acid!

This is why there is a banned substances (http://www.consumerlab.com/results/bannedsub.asp) program ... athletes are being disqualified because the vitamins they take which claim to NOT have certain ingredients DO (a common scheme is to dope the vitamin with caffeine so you "feel" the energy from the vitamins).

Another good site:

USP.org (http://www.usp.org/aboutUSP/)

Note on this page (http://www.usp.org/USPVerified/dietarySupplements/) the tests:

Integrity
Tests based on USP standards have shown that contents of many supplements sold in retail stores don't match the label and that some supplements contain significantly less or more than the claimed amount of key ingredients.

Purity
Some supplements may contain lead, mercury, other heavy metals, pesticides, bacteria, molds, toxins, or other potentially harmful contaminants.

Here's probably the biggest issue I have with most of the cheaper supplements on the market ...
Dissolution
If a supplement does not break down properly to allow its ingredients to dissolve in the body, it means you won't get the full benefit of its contents.

Safe Manufacturing
Assurance of safe, sanitary, well-controlled, and well-documented manufacturing and monitoring processes is proof that the supplement manufacturer is quality-conscious and concerned for your well-being.

Anyway, off my horse, but it still amazes me there is so much body of evidence at how important a quality multivitamin can be, and how many people will spend $7.50 on a movie or $40 on a tub of protein powder but won't pay over $10 for a month's supply of quality multivitamins.

Jeremy