Bloomberg News conducted a study of aloe vera gel products bought at Target, CVS, WalMart and Walgreens.
"Samples of store-brand aloe gel purchased at national retailers Wal-Mart, Target and CVS showed no indication of the plant in various lab tests. The products all listed aloe barbadensis leaf juice — another name for aloe vera — as either the No. 1 ingredient or No. 2 after water."
So they not only called it Aloe Vera on the front, but they listed it in the ingredients, and it wasn't there.
The tests were rather sophisticated, including nuclear magnetic resonance analysis to look for a very complex polysaccharide (several sugars stuck together to make a big slimy molecule) that is specific to aloe. They also looked for 2 other chemicals, one of which was found in the Walgreens product so it might have had Aloe in it. They also found maltodextrin, an Aloe substitute. The manufacturers and their aloe suppliers are denying it and claiming NMR isn't a reliable test. An independent aloe cosmetic company in Europe says if acemannan wasn't detected, it's either degraded aloe or there's no aloe at all.
Naturally, class action lawsuits are being filed to cash in.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...e-vera-found-in-the-aloe-vera-at-wal-mart-cvs
"Samples of store-brand aloe gel purchased at national retailers Wal-Mart, Target and CVS showed no indication of the plant in various lab tests. The products all listed aloe barbadensis leaf juice — another name for aloe vera — as either the No. 1 ingredient or No. 2 after water."
So they not only called it Aloe Vera on the front, but they listed it in the ingredients, and it wasn't there.
The tests were rather sophisticated, including nuclear magnetic resonance analysis to look for a very complex polysaccharide (several sugars stuck together to make a big slimy molecule) that is specific to aloe. They also looked for 2 other chemicals, one of which was found in the Walgreens product so it might have had Aloe in it. They also found maltodextrin, an Aloe substitute. The manufacturers and their aloe suppliers are denying it and claiming NMR isn't a reliable test. An independent aloe cosmetic company in Europe says if acemannan wasn't detected, it's either degraded aloe or there's no aloe at all.
Naturally, class action lawsuits are being filed to cash in.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...e-vera-found-in-the-aloe-vera-at-wal-mart-cvs