Strong Irish warning on weight loss and energy boost supplements after fatality & liver failure
Posted on: November 13th, 2013
The OxyELITE products at the centre of the liver disease controversy in the US which are now the subject of a strongly worded warning from the Irish authorities after problems with the range here.
Irish consumers have been warned that a number of food supplements on sale here should not be purchased because they have been linked to liver failure, including one case in Ireland, and also at least one fatality.
A strongly worded joint warning has been issued by the Food Safety Authority (FSA) Ireland and the Irish Medicines Board about the weight loss, energy boosting and muscle building products.
It centres on three products: OxyELITE Pro Super Thermo capsules; OxyELITE Pro Ultra Intense Thermo capsules; OxyELITE Pro Super Thermo powder and VERSA-1.
The warning about the supplements was issued today, Wednesday, and states the products and others in the same range "have been associated with severe liver disorders, including hepatitis and liver failure with one case reported in Ireland" thus far.
The products contain an ingredient called aegeline and are being investigated by the authorities in the US.
The controversy first surfaced in the US where the Food and Drug Administration has just recalled the products claiming they had been adulterated with aegeline, which it believes is an unproven compound from an Asian tree.
The supplements were found to have been consumed by a large number of previously healthy people who experienced sudden and unexpected liver failure.
There have been a number of non viral hepatitis cases reported. These have included at least one fatality and other incidents that have necessitated liver transplants.
Director of consumer protection at the FSA in Dublin, Ray Ellard said retailers selling the products here had been issued with an alert warning them to withdraw the range from the market. And consumers who had already purchased them were being asked to dump the products.
"Outlets such as gyms, sports supplement retailers and businesses selling supplements from websites are being asked to remove these products from sale and to clearly display a point of sale notice if they sold the products in the past," Mr Ellard said.
He added Irish people using the products were taking a serious risk.
"We know that OxyELITE Pro has, in the past, contained another unsafe ingredient and is now linked as a possible acute cause of hepatitis. Consumers should not purchase these types of products online as there is no guarantee as to their safety or what they actually contain."
Director of compliance at the Irish Medicines Board, John Lynch reiterated that warning, urging people who had consumed the products here to seek medical treatment. He also pointed out that some of the products had in the past contained ingredients that rendered them controlled drugs in Ireland.
"People are advised that if they are feeling any ill effects after taking any of these products they should contact their doctor and, if possible, present the product in question," he said.
"We believe people are seeking these products for a number of reasons including weight loss, energy boosting and muscle building. We seriously urge people not to buy or consume these as they can cause a significant risk to your health."