4 ms·

Could the market solve this problem better than the goverment? https://labdoor.com https://labdoor.com. What's missing now is enough people to negatively review

Could the market solve this problem better than the goverment? https://labdoor.com https://labdoor.com. What's missing now is enough people to negatively review products on Amazon and the like. Perhaps that could be automated.

gnulinux 8y ago
I check labdoor every time I'll get something relevant (protein powder, chocolate, multivitamin) as a psychological reference, but I can't find any convincing evidence why labdoor should be more reliable and correct than the labels on the products. Do they publish their methodologies? Also for some product types all products fail California heavy metal regulations, and they just give everyone 0 points, instead of publishing exact amount of heavy metal in products. Like, I wanna know if I'm gonna get mercury poisoning if I eat two servings, or is it just above the threshold and should be safe...
pjc50 8y ago
Positive reviews on Amazon can also be automated. There's a whole industry of gaming reviews. Caveat emptor is never going to work for subtle problems like this.
Broken_Hippo 8y ago
Most folks buying supplements aren't in a position to perform checks on the ingredients in the actual pills. Not only that, but they aren't always in the position to know which claims are BS and which aren't. It is wonderful that such companies exist, but most folks won't check. And if someone simply doesn't check a product, it'll go undetected. And all it takes for a product to start flying off shelves is someone like Dr Oz mentioning the product and folks deciding he simply wouldn't give bad information. They trust him more than random website. (I should mention that I worked in a pharmacy, and have seen these effects first hand. I've also seen folks completely ignore a pharmacist recommendations for whatever their cousin's husband's mother said). I'll add that I wouldn't trust such an agency to tell me my actual, FDA-approved medications are safe, and we are basically talking about folks using products for health reasons.

gnulinux 8y ago

I check labdoor every time I'll get something relevant (protein powder, chocolate, multivitamin) as a psychological reference, but I can't find any convincing evidence why labdoor should be more reliable and correct than the labels on the products. Do they publish their methodologies? Also for some product types all products fail California heavy metal regulations, and they just give everyone 0 points, instead of publishing exact amount of heavy metal in products. Like, I wanna know if I'm gonna get mercury poisoning if I eat two servings, or is it just above the threshold and should be safe...

pjc50 8y ago

Positive reviews on Amazon can also be automated. There's a whole industry of gaming reviews. Caveat emptor is never going to work for subtle problems like this.

Broken_Hippo 8y ago

Most folks buying supplements aren't in a position to perform checks on the ingredients in the actual pills. Not only that, but they aren't always in the position to know which claims are BS and which aren't. It is wonderful that such companies exist, but most folks won't check. And if someone simply doesn't check a product, it'll go undetected. And all it takes for a product to start flying off shelves is someone like Dr Oz mentioning the product and folks deciding he simply wouldn't give bad information. They trust him more than random website. (I should mention that I worked in a pharmacy, and have seen these effects first hand. I've also seen folks completely ignore a pharmacist recommendations for whatever their cousin's husband's mother said). I'll add that I wouldn't trust such an agency to tell me my actual, FDA-approved medications are safe, and we are basically talking about folks using products for health reasons.