Vitamins and controls at vitamin plants

[Aerows]

I used to work for a Vitamin plant that also made other drugs.

Do I trust Vitamins absolutely? No, I don't. They had controls, and control rooms full of samples, but when the head of QA complained that the samples were degraded, and couldn't possibly be a sample from the fresh product, she was fired.

I absolutely believe she was honest, because she was painstaking in her analysis. She had clashes with other department heads, but she was respected, and I respected her, too. She clashed on the fact that the safety rules in the plant were double standards, which they were, since I wore booties, a hairnet and lab coat, while some idiot from a drug company roamed free in sandals and nothing as he was ushered around.

I am not calling for more regulations that I know won't be enforced. I am calling for people to realize that what they think is regulated is a circus. I 100% testify to this, since I worked there, walked through the building, and wrote the SOP's (which weren't followed due to pressure from upper management).

People that attempt to bring the rules in line get forcefully ejected. I quit myself two days later when the manager called me at home, when in the midst of a defined, horrific bladder infection threatened to fire me if I didn't come back. I had a fever of 101, and I walked right in in shorts, handed in my badge and collected my plant from my office. I wouldn't even let IT stay there any longer.

I will not disclose the company that happened with, but I'm sure many can figure it out. They mistreated their people.

[Aerows]

1. Kick

I had bought some of their vitamins, and their drug delivery systems.

[Aerows]

2. I am disgusted to this day

with what I may have done. I wrote the Operating Procedures for this plant, and I made an handsome sum of $12.00/hr. That was what my $35,000 Chemistry B.S. was worth.

Selling out is something I would do under extreme duress, and ultimately will never do.

[kentauros]

3. I'm not that knowledgeable about such corruption at vitamin companies

but will kick this for you :) I'd like to know the name of the company, too...

Normally, I only buy my few supplements at Whole Foods, though my chiropractor recently suggested Biotics Research Corp for a Vit.D concentrate.

[Aerows]

8. I worked at one

And wrote the Standard Operating Procedures for it.

How they clean the equipment, how they evaluate it's safety. I was fine with option number 1, but I couldn't sign off on option number 2 because of toxicity levels. That's why my boss quit, and 10 years later, I still respect her. I quit because I couldn't GET toxicity levels from anyone, except the one person that I trusted in the department who did QC on a chemical level. She was harassed out of the department, and had her personal life dragged through the damn mud.

[gateley]

4. Agree. When the smaller company I worked for was bought out by an offshoot of

a mega-pharmaceutical, I saw the QA decline. Although they were strict about following the SOP's and making sure that anyone on the floor was garbed in sterile clothing, they hid the problems w/the equipment because they didn't want to spend the $$$ to upgrade (once a piece of rust was detected in the product -- and it was for IV use!) and the company they were previously had the $$$ to take the risks and pay the fines, cheaper than doing the right thing. They were also able to hide a lot of stuff during the FDA inspections.

The people working there were good, but the higher-ups, as always, only cared about the bottom line.

[Aerows]

5. No responses?

Good heavens folks. This happened. I am calling it out.

You just recommend and don't step up to the plate and make a statement?

I guess I don't have 1000 posts, and that makes all the difference.

[kentauros]

6. Give them some time.

It is the middle of the day. On a weekend. ;)

Check again this evening once people are home again. There are protests going on today, too, so a lot of posters will be focused on that and their outcomes...

[Aerows]

12. Thank you, my friend. n/t

[dixiegrrrrl]

15. It is not unusual here for people to read, rec, and not comment.

How many recs you get ( anything above 5 puts it on the greatest page) is more important than how many comments.

[diane in sf]

7. You're not working for them anymore, so I'd like to know the name of the company.

Otherwise the article is kind of low information, nothing one can act on.

[Aerows]

9. I would be happy to provide you with the company name

but you cannot demand it in an open forum.

Do you dare deny that it happened?

Go ahead. I will never release it due to liability, but if others do, since they know my history, it's your loss.

Test me, cher.

[Aerows]

10. I dare you to say that I am lying.

[Aerows]

11. I do understand your reasoning

and I appreciate it.

I'm really not certain how to meet in the middle on this because I directly experienced this. It wasn't a "political experience".

I'm a lesbian, left wing and always have been. I have donated, fought and struggled to wrestle out lives out of the grip of corporations. They are turning us into fascism.

[Aerows]

13. I don't mean to be so challenging

but I am terrified of being sued. I just wanted to throw out there what happened to me. Take it for what it is worth, and believe it or decide I am creating a fabrication for "amusement" or some nefarious purpose.

[shanti]

14. outsourcing

is an issue with pharmaceuticals too. my acid reflux meds are made in india.

[Raine]

16. Very interesting

I take vitamins. I wish I knew who you were talking about but I haven't a clue. :-(

[nilram]

17. I subscribe to a web site that tests vitamins independently

but I've heard rumors they publish only those reports that the makers allow. Still, they do report on vitamins that don't meet their advertised potency, or have certain contaminants. Shrug. It's the best I can do without getting my own lab.