Vitamin Shoppe, Inc. Enters Into Agreements with Attorneys General Oregon And Vermont Regarding BMPEA

NORTH BERGEN, N.J., May 7, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Vitamin Shoppe, Inc. (NYSE: VSI) today announced that the company has entered into an Assurance of Voluntary Compliance (AVC) with the Oregon Attorney General and an Assurance of Discontinuance (AOD) with the Vermont Attorney General regarding products that may contain BMPEA, a substance that does not meet the statutory definition of a dietary ingredient.

As part of both the AVC and AOD, Vitamin Shoppe, Inc. has agreed to the following:

• The Company will not sell products that contain BMPEA
• The Company will also not sell products containing the botanical acacia rigidula, which are at risk for containing BMPEA, unless adequate testing has been done to determine the product does not contain BMPEA

On April 7, 2015, a study was published in Drug Testing and Analysis, which found that some acacia rigidula containing products may also contain BMPEA. On April 8, 2015, Vitamin Shoppe, Inc., of its own volition and prior to receiving notice from Oregon or Vermont, proactively removed from its stores and website all acacia rigidula containing products, due to the concern that some of them may contain BMPEA. Vitamin Shoppe, Inc. entered into both an AVC with the Oregon Attorney General and an AOD with the Vermont Attorney General on May 6, 2015.

The health and safety of Vitamin Shoppe customers is the company's number one priority, and the company removed these products out of an abundance of caution. Vitamin Shoppe, Inc. continues to encourage the FDA to use its authority to remove any dietary supplements from the market which it deems unsafe.

About the Vitamin Shoppe, Inc. (NYSE: VSI)

The Vitamin Shoppe is a multi-channel specialty retailer and contract manufacturer of nutritional products based in North Bergen, New Jersey.  In its stores and on its website, the Company carries one of the most comprehensive retail assortments in the industry, including vitamins, minerals, specialty supplements, herbs, sports nutrition, homeopathic remedies, green living products, and beauty aids.  In addition to offering 900 national brand products, the Vitamin Shoppe also exclusively carries products under The Vitamin Shoppe®, BodyTech®, True Athlete®, MyTrition®, plntTM, ProBioCareTM, Next StepTM, Betancourt and Nutri-Force Sports® brands.  The Vitamin Shoppe conducts business through more than 700 company-operated retail stores under The Vitamin Shoppe, Super Supplements and Vitapath retail banners, and primarily through its websites, www.VitaminShoppe.com and www.supersup.com.  Follow The Vitamin Shoppe on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/THEVITAMINSHOPPE and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/VitaminShoppe.

Forward Looking StatementsCertain statements in this press release are "forward-looking statements."  Such forward-looking statements reflect the Company's current expectations or beliefs concerning future events and actual results of operations may differ materially from historical results or current expectations. Any such forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including the strength of the economy, changes in the overall level of consumer spending, the performance of the Company's products within the prevailing retail environment, trade restrictions, availability of suitable store locations at appropriate terms, the availability of raw materials, compliance with regulations, certifications and best practices with respect to the development, manufacture, sales and marketing of the company's products and other factors which are further described in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 27, 2014 and in all filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission made by the Company subsequent to the filing of the Form 10-K.  The Company does not undertake to publicly update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless required to do so by law.  

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SOURCE The Vitamin Shoppe, Inc.