Belgian consumer organisation Testachats has issued a warning about illegal and dangerous substances found in some diet supplements.
The consumer organisation purchased dozens of weight-loss supplements from online shops for laboratory testing, revealing that some products contain illegal and dangerous substances.
Testachats bought 58 weight-loss supplements from Amazon, Bol, AliExpress, Wish, and Alibaba for analysis. The results showed that some products contained illegal and dangerous substances, some had no active ingredients at all, and some packaging made false promises.
In three products bought from AliExpress and Alibaba, Testachats found ephedrine, which was not listed on the label. "The use of ephedrine in dietary supplements is illegal, as it is a stimulant included on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s banned list," said the organisation.
Other products were found to have no active ingredients, containing only water or oil instead of the advertised substance. Testachats identified three such products, purchased from AliExpress and Wish. "This clearly aims to mislead consumers, which is problematic even if it’s less dangerous," the organisation stated.
Testachats also noted that many dietary supplements boast fake or misleading claims on their packaging or websites. Many of the tested products were promoted on Instagram and TikTok, promising to "reduce appetite," "prevent body fat storage," and "burn fat."
"The European regulations require that claims must be truthful and based on scientific evidence, and they must not claim to prevent or cure diseases, as that is reserved for medicines," said Testachats.
Testachats is calling for more rigorous inspections and has forwarded the results of its investigation to the authorities.
