Imported dietary supplements found toxic

According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS), harmful substances have been detected in 128 out of 1,215 types of health supplements sold on overseas internet websites last year. As more Korean consumers directly purchase dietary supplements from foreign websites, the MFDS inspected the safety of the products which boast effectiveness for weight loss, muscle strengthening or sexual dysfunction treatment.

Products directly purchased from foreign websites do not need safety examinations, so toxic substances can be included in the products. Among 532 weight-loss supplements, 55 products including New Slim 30 contained the veterinary drug yohimbine, constipation drugs or the prohibited drug Sibutramine. Fastin-XR and Lipotherm included betamethylphenethylamine, an isomer of the stimulant amphetamine. Seven products, such as Slim FX, contained more than two harmful substances.

Among 345 products for sexual dysfunction treatment, 60 products including Power King contained yohimbine or other medical materials such as icariin, sildenafil or tadalafil. Male Response and 19 other products included more than two harmful substances. Among 338 muscle mass gainers, 13 products including ISA-TEST contained yohimbine or icariin.

Over the past few years, the MFDS has monitored and exposed harmful dietary supplements imported from overseas. An MFDS official said the recently discovered products and websites are all new. "The U.S.-based websites are selling most of the products, but the products have been purchased from all over the world including Japan and Europe," the official said.

The MFDS gave the information to the Korea Customs Service to ban the import of harmful products and requested the Korea Communications Commission to block the websites selling those products. It expects such measures will prevent possible health problems. According to the MFDS, about 1.1 million consumers in Korea are estimated to have directly purchased foods, including health supplements, via international websites between December 2011 and February 2016. 

Source: The Korea Times 2016.11.21 Press Release