GNC has reached an agreement with the office of New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman to implement new safety standards for the retailer's Herbal Plus product line.

The agreement comes a month after a study commissioned by the Attorney General’s office found many of the herbal supplements sold at GNC, Target, Walmart and Walgreens in New York state were labeled with ingredients not found in the product, or had contaminants not listed on the product’s label.

Cease-and-desist letters were sent last month to all four retailers, but GNC is the first to initiate steps to verify the safety of its herbal supplements.

“This is a huge breakthrough in a massive industry and American consumers deserve to get what they pay for, especially when it comes with promises of better health,” Schneiderman said at a news conference on Monday detailing the agreement.

GNC is required to utilize new testing standards, including DNA barcoding to confirm the authenticity of its herbal ingredients, and the company must also issue a report to the Attorney General’s office every six months to verify its compliance with the agreement.

Schneiderman emphasized these “landmark reforms” exceed FDA standards regulating herbal supplements, which currently do not mandate the use of DNA-based technologies. He also hopes this deal with GNC will set a model of transparency and consumer safety for other retailers to follow.

The company says its agreement affirms that the products are in full compliance with the FDA's requirements. It says it provided the attorney general with results of internal tests and those conducted by third parties.

With reporting by the Associated Press