FDA Identifies Emerging Trend of Dangerous Medicines Hidden in “All Natural Supplements”

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has seen an increase in tainted products marketed as “all natural” or “100% herbal” that contain undeclared pharmaceutical ingredients that could potentially sicken consumers and counterfeit prescription medications that contain inappropriate ingredients or incorrect dosages.

In a news release, the CBP and FDA said that “counterfeiters have become more sophisticated in deceiving consumers. It can be difficult, if not impossible, to tell the real product from an imposter without sophisticated equipment. Counterfeit drugs may look exactly like real FDA-approved medicines, but their quality and safety are unknown. For example, counterfeit products could contain the wrong ingredients and/or varying amounts of the supposed active ingredient.”

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has seen an increase in tainted products marketed as “all natural” or “100% herbal” that contain undeclared pharmaceutical ingredients that could potentially sicken consumers and counterfeit prescription medications that contain inappropriate ingredients or incorrect dosages.

In a news release, the CBP and FDA said that “counterfeiters have become more sophisticated in deceiving consumers. It can be difficult, if not impossible, to tell the real product from an imposter without sophisticated equipment. Counterfeit drugs may look exactly like real FDA-approved medicines, but their quality and safety are unknown. For example, counterfeit products could contain the wrong ingredients and/or varying amounts of the supposed active ingredient.”

Says David Murphy, CBP Director of Field Operations in Chicago, “CBP remains vigilant, on-guard and in-sync with our federal partner, the FDA, to protect American consumers from these potentially harmful products.”

In addition to counterfeit prescription drug products, CBP and FDA reports that tainted male sexual enhancement products being purchased on-line and imported into the United States in greater volumes. Marketed as “all natural” or “100% herbal,” often they contain undeclared pharmaceuticals such as sildenafil, vardenafil and tadalafil, all of which are ingredients in medications that require prescriptions in the United States. These products may have dangerous and life-threatening effects upon ingestion based upon the undeclared ingredients.

CBP has seized nearly 200,000 pills containing these active ingredients in the past four months in US mail deliveries coming from overseas, reports CBS.

Reports CBS, “The fake prescription drugs are being shipped with phony packaging labels and the pills have phony drug company stamps to make them look legitimate. The counterfeit pills are becoming a hot commodity because they are cheaper than the real thing.”

“That’s a big red flag when you see it’s half the price or reduced price”, said Scott MacIntire, Director of the FDA’s Chicago District. In some case the pills could have half the amount of a prescription drugs or ten times the amount.

FDA agents have revealed 300 chemically-tainted products, including diet and body-building pills in the past three years.