Urgent warning: Philippines FDA highlights 'unlicensed and unsafe' dietary supplements

02-Jul-2019 - Last updated on 02-Jul-2019 at 02:34 GMT

The Philippines FDA said rgwunregistered dietary supplements had not undergone the regulatory agency's evaluation process, making it impossible to guarantee their quality and safety. ©Getty Images

The Philippines Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a stern public warning against the purchase and consumption of 11 dietary supplements it has pinpointed as 'unlicensed and unsafe'.

According to the FDA’s post-marketing surveillance, these supplements were being sold publicly despite lacking the required Certificate of Product Registration (CPR)

The products were:

Vitacio Maca Root Extract complex (500mg)
Doctor’s Best Best Probiotic (20 billion CFU)
Probiotic Pearls Women’s Digestive & Yeast Balance
Puritan’s Pride Chewable Chlorophyll (natural spearmint flavour)
Scivation Xtend BCAAs (mango flavour)
Natural Stacks Ciltep for Mental Performance
DRFormulas Hairomega DHT blocker (with biotin)
Keto 2000
Bust Maxx (breast enhancement supplement)
Nature’s Nectar (bone builder with calcium)
Plump Bust (breast enlargement capsule)

Public precaution advised

The FDA said these unregistered dietary supplements had not undergone the regulatory agency’s evaluation process, making it impossible to guarantee their quality and safety.

In an official statement, the agency said: “The FDA verified through post-marketing surveillance that the abovementioned food supplements are not registered and the Certificate of Product Registration (CPR) has not yet been issued.

“Pursuant to the Republic Act No. 9711, otherwise known as the Food and Drug Administration Act of 2009, the manufacture, importation, exportation, sale, offering for sale, distribution, transfer, non-consumer use, promotion, advertising or sponsorship of health products without the proper authorisation is prohibited.

“The consumption of such products may pose health risk to consumers.”

It further advised consumers not to purchase the listed products, and to always check if a food product or dietary supplement had been registered with the FDA, encouraging them to use the official website’s ‘search’ feature to determine if the product was listed as registered on the website.

It also warned all stores selling dietary supplements not to distribute the aforementioned products until the proper authorisation had been issued — in this case, a Licence to Operate (LTO) for the establishments, and a CPR for each individual supplement.

The FDA’s statement continued: “All FDA field officers and Regulatory Enforcement Units (REU) in coordination with the law enforcement agencies and Local Government Units (LGUs) are requested to ensure that violative products are not sold or made available in their localities or areas of jurisdiction.”