CMO warns of dangerous supplements

ZIZ News — Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Patrick Martin has issued a warning to local consumers about certain supplements, including male enhancement products being sold locally.

Dr. Martin told ZIZ that these products are not regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration but are acquired via the internet and sold in the Federation.

“Supplements are not defined as medicine,” he said. “They are defined as food. So the FDA and the other government agencies that regulate medicines do not regulate supplements. The FDA kicks in after there is a report of a problem. By that time you could be dead.”

Martin said while there are reputable supplements that have been tested and trademarked, some carry hidden ingredients and false information so the Ministry’s duty is to protect the public from those products.

“Whenever we get information of a product coming into the country or likely to come into the country or already here that is substandard, spurious, falsely labeled, falsified or counterfeit we will let the public know via the media,” he said.

Recently, a shipment of an herbal supplement called “Super Powerful Man Tablets” was denied distribution in the country.

In a safety advisory issued in 2011, the Therapeutic Goods Administration warned that the product posed a potentially serious health risk to consumers.

However, the importer told an online media house that based on his research, the brand that he imported was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in china, and does not carry any unapproved substance that could have serious health problems.