Sports supplements containing controlled and prescription drugs have been pulled from shelves following a Consumer NZ investigation into the products.
A mystery shop of six sports supplement stores found six products that contained seven illegal drugs, ranging from amphetamine-like stimulants to prescription medicines used to treat ADHD and Parkinson’s disease.
Gemma Rasmussen of Consumer NZ told Breakfast there were some “pretty incredible claims” made on packaging.
“Things like increased energy, weight loss, suppressed appetite, all these things, so we wanted to look at it. And also, there is a real lack of legislation around this area so it can be a little bit of a wild west in terms of what’s sold,” she said.
In New Zealand, sports supplements don’t need to be tested or proved safe before being sold.
Instead, the responsibility is placed on the seller to ensure the product is made to an acceptable quality and is safe to use.
Rasmussen said there was a bill that was scrapped in 2017 around supplements, which was disappointing.
She warned that with no regulations, the products were available for all to buy for, even teenagers, which could be dangerous.
“Because some of the flow on effects of some of the drugs could be increased heart rate, blood pressure, stroke and worst case even death, so it is a really serious issue and we would encourage consumers to be looking at what's on the back, and knowing what's in the ingredients list.
Without legislation, the onus falls on the seller to act responsibly, and check products. But Rasmussen said some weren’t doing so, and some didn't even respond to Consumer NZ after it shared the findings.
“The responsibility is placed on the seller to ensure the product is made to an acceptable quality and is safe to use. We think there needs to be tighter regulation to ensure potentially dangerous ingredients aren’t winding up on New Zealand shelves,” said Rasmussen.
What the investigation found
Products that contained prescription drugs included Lit the F%#k up by Liberty Labz, a so-called fat burner that claimed to increase energy, metabolism and suppress appetite.
Consumer NZ found it to include Octodrine, a prescription drug which is an amphetamine-like stimulant. It was removed from sale from Supplements Solutions after Consumer NZ contacted them.
Other supplements included high concentrations of levodopa, which is used to treat Parkinsons, Gamma-aminobutyric acid, which is a class B drug, and Hordenine, a class C drug.
Rasmussen encouraged anyone concerned about their sports supplements product to check the list of ingredients on the Consumer NZ website, or to speak with their GP.
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