NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The makers of an over-the-counter weight-loss pill have suspended sales following accusations the product contains but does not list an ingredient banned by the NFL.”We’ve received notice of the problem with the NFL,” the makers of StarCaps said in a statement released by e-mail Thursday. The statement added that the company is “taking all necessary steps to ensure that our customers receive product that is safe and effective.”Saints players Jamar Nesbit and Deuce McAllister say they tested positive for Bumetanide after using StarCaps. Nesbit, who filed suit against StarCaps this week, and McAllister are among six to eight players under investigation by the league for taking a diuretic, considered a masking agent for steroids.A person familiar with the case provided the number of players involved and spoke on condition of anonymity because the players are appealing.While suspending new shipments, the company stopped short of issuing a recall.StarCaps attorney Marc Ullman, with the firm Ullman, Shapiro & Ullman in New York, said a recall would be premature until the company received results from lab tests that should be completed in a week or two.”If product is adulterated with this substance, it’s not something we knew about or wanted to have happen and we need to get the bottom of what’s going on here,” Ullman said. “Obviously, we hope our test results indicate there’s no contamination.”Ullman said he is unaware of any previous consumer complaints about the pills, which he said are aimed at women and have been on the market for about 20 years.However, a study published in the November/December 2007 issue of the Journal of Analytical Toxicology found traces of Bumetanide in urine tests of people who took StarCaps.Performed by the Center for Human Toxicology at the University of Utah, the study found “unregulated dietary supplements may put consumers at risk for unwitting consumption of prescription medications, and that it is possible for athletes to                                           inadvertently test positive for Bumetanide and face disciplinary actions.”McAllister and two other Saints, defensive ends Will Smith and Charles Grant, all are appealing possible four-game suspensions they could face as first-time violators of the NFL’s drug policy.
The attorney handling their consolidated appeal, David Cornwell, compared StarCaps’ move to suspend shipments to “closing the barn door after the horse has bolted.”—-Contact The Daily Reveille’s sports staff at [email protected]