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A House of Representatives committee is investigating personal genetic testing kits after one company attempted to sell its test through retailers, lawmakers said on Wednesday.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee asked 23andMe Inc, Navigenics Inc and Pathway Genomics Corp to provide information including details on the tests' accuracy and how the companies analyze results.

The lawmakers, two Democrats and two Republicans, said in a statement there was "concern from the scientific community regarding the accuracy of test results."

Pharmacy chain Walgreen Co earlier this month had said it would start selling a saliva genetic test made by Pathway but put those plans on hold after the Food and Drug Administration challenged the sales.

The agency asked Pathway to prove why the test should be sold without the agency's blessing. The FDA said it was unable to identify an approval for the Pathway test. Some tests are allowed on the market without FDA clearance.

Pathway's test contains a small saliva collection kit, instructions, and a postage-paid envelope that customers can use to send their sample back to the Pathway lab...