WILLOWBROOK, Ill. (Sun-Times Media Wire) -- Federal authorities seized nearly 300,000 containers of dietary supplements Friday from a Willowbrook-based manufacturer and distributor after prosecutors filed a civil forfeiture complaint on behalf of the FDA.
The seized goods at Life Rising Corp.'s facilities, 7884 S. Quincy St. in Willowbrook, consisted of about 500 kinds of capsules, tablets and teas valued at nearly $3.5 million, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois.
"When dietary supplement manufacturers deviate from proper manufacturing requirements, they put the public health at risk," U.S. Attorney John R. Lausch said in the statement. "The U.S. Attorney's Office will continue to work closely with the FDA to prevent dietary supplement manufacturers from jeopardizing public health."
The seizure came after the U.S. attorney's office filed a civil forfeiture complaint on behalf of the federal Food and Drug Administration, which found the company packaged or held supplements "under conditions that do not conform to the dietary supplement current good manufacturing practice requirements," prosecutors said.
During a 2016 inspection, the FDA learned Life Rising failed to establish specifications for the purity, strength and composition of each finished batch of supplements, prosecutors said. The company also lacked procedures for pest control and for cleaning and sanitizing equipment.
The FDA issued a warning letter to Life Rising in 2017, and in an inspection earlier this year found multiple violations, "many of which were similar or identical" to the ones noted in the prior inspections, prosecutors said.
The FDA issued a safety alert last month warning that some of the company's products tested positive for lead, including Holder-W Holder Warmer, Metabolism Cleansing (MET-CLS) and Neck-ND Neck Clear capsules .
A representative for Life Rising did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the seizure.