Consumerlabs does testing on virtually EVERYTHING. Like a virtual FDA. Unfortunately you have to pay to see the results of their testing.
After reading your post, tablet for tablet, your Puritans have my GNC beat hands down.
For $9 each of my GNC tablets contain 2,500I.U. of Vitamin A whereas for $11, Puritan tablets contain 10,000I.U. of Vitamin A. Pretty much the same with all the vitamins. Seemed a little TOO far outta whack so I did some Googling and ended up on the Consumerlabs site.
They tested 39 multivitamins and 12 of them FAILED and one of the ones they tested was Puritan Pride. Like I said you have to pay to see results but there is a 32% chance Puritan is one of the ones that failed.
http://www.consumerlab.com/results/multivit.asp
Puritan's prices are a little TOO cheap for me Christ, you're putting this stuff into your body. Don't you think this is a time NOT to go cheap???
Below is a quote from the Consumer Reports website:
"According to testing by Consumer Reports, buying super-cheap multivitamins in close-out and dollar stores is a gamble not worth taking. Nearly half of the 18 brands tested failed to contain the labeled amount of at least one nutrient, and several did not dissolve adequately. Even if cut-rate products were reliable, they offered savings of only about $3 to $21 a year over name-brand products; even less, if any, over major store brands."
All Puritan does is make pills, that's it. GNC also has a HUGE retail business that would be gone tomorrow if ANY of their products tested bunk.
Vitamins are one of those things we'll never notice their effects. Like changin oil in our cars......we don't notice any difference after we do it but we know it's good for our cars. Referring to my acne story when I was a teenager, I for one DID see the results from taking vitamins and they were GNC's.
After seeing positive physical results myself, knowing the company DEPENDS on their products to be legitimate I will gladly pay a few extra pennies to ensure I am taking REAL vitamins.
I'm not going cheap when it comes to my health and well being and what if Puritan FAILED the ConsumerLabs test?? Will it be worth the few extra pennies you saved?? Just for the fact alone that Puritan MAY have faild the test would be enough for me to stop buying them!!
Good luck, and may the force be with you!!