FDA Says More Scrutiny Over Dietary Supplements

Image via WikipediaThe FDA took new steps aimed at keeping consumers safe from harmful products that are marketed as dietary supplements and that contain undeclared or deceptively labeled ingredients. The FDA has found that these products are often promoted for weight loss, sexual enhancement, and bodybuilding.

 From the FDA site:

Among the substances found in products that are marketed as dietary supplements and that contain hidden or deceptively labeled ingredients are

• the active ingredients in FDA-approved drugs or their analogs (closely-related drugs).
• other compounds, such as novel synthetic steroids, that do not qualify as dietary ingredients. 

Where FDA investigations have discovered tainted products marketed as dietary supplements, the agency has issued warning letters and conducted seizures and criminal prosecutions.

FDA has also alerted consumers to hundreds of products with these often deceptively labeled and harmful ingredients, including more than 80 products marketed for sexual enhancement, more than 70 products marketed for weight loss, and more than 80 products marketed for bodybuilding.

Interesting: We've been working on cases involving unsafe supplements for several years, and to me the problem is getting worse, not better. Let's see how the FDA moves on this.