A nationwide alert was released to warn consumers about tainted weight loss pills that have undeclared, active pharmaceutical ingredients. In December 2008, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned consumers to stay away from 28 different weight loss products on the market. Since then, the FDA has identified 41 more tainted weight loss products that could harm the health of consumers.
Some of the tainted weight loss products include Fatloss Slimming, 2 Day Diet, 3x Slimming Power, ProSlim Plus, Royal Slimming Formula, Slim 3 in 1, Cosmo Slim, Body Slimming and Body Shaping. For the complete list, visit the FDA’s website.
These weight loss pills were found through an FDA analysis to contain undeclared pharymacecuial ingredients such as sibutramine (a controlled substance), rimonabant (a drug not approved for marketing in the United States), phenytoin (an anti-seizure medication), phenolphthalein (a solution used in chemical experiments and a suspected cancer causing agent), and bumetanide (a diuretic). The FDA believes these weight loss pills could put consumers’ health at risk, as the active ingredients far exceed the FDA-recommended levels.
Many of the weight loss products named by the FDA are marketed as “dietary supplements” and sold by various online retailers and in some retail locations. What was extremely frightening about the FDA’s findings is that some of these weight loss products are promoted as “natural” or to only contain “herbal” ingredients, even though they contain some harmful ingredients not listed on the product labels. In a news release, the FDA stated that these products are not approved by the agency and are illegal, in addition to being potentially harmful to unsuspecting consumers.
Consumers are warned to stop taking these products and consult their healthcare providers immediately.
