Updated code to strip Visual Composer tags. source and source
$desc = preg_replace("~(?:\[/?)[^/\]]+/?\]~s", '', ($item->post_content));;
$desc = preg_replace('~(?:\[/?).*?"]~s', '', $desc);
$desc = strip_tags($desc);
Web developer • Wordpress specialist • Saffron Walden, Essex