Slimming dietary supplements must be chosen very carefully. The consumer monthly Altroconsumo bought 30 of them online and had them tested in a laboratory, discovering serious irregularities and even the presence of health-threatening ingredients.
The products were purchased on 12 websites and ecommerce platforms, including Amazon, eBay, Alibaba, Aliexpress, Wish. From the last two marketplaces come the 5 worst slimming supplements in the test.
Dangerous slimming supplements
Three slimming supplements sold on Wish, a platform already censured in France for the irregularity of clothes and gadgets, are harmful and outlawed.
One product (Phenemine), US origin, was found to contain amphetamine (amphetaminil), an anorectic and psychotropic substance. This narcotic is also banned in weight-loss drugs, much less allowed in dietary supplements, which by definition are unsuitable for curing diseases.
In the other two products purchased on Wish (one U.S., the other of unknown origin), however, salicylic acid, an active ingredient used to treat psoriasis and acne but designed for topical use and without ingestion, was found. In one case, the label states to ingest two capsules per day, in the other it reports ‘massage use,’ but the capsule format is misleading.
Active ingredient fraud
Instead, a blatant fraud was discovered with regard to two products sold on Aliexpress (origin China in one case and unknown in the other). According to the label, ‘slimming’ substances were present in the supplements, such as mango, green tea, raspberry, garcinia cambogia extract, ginseng, etc.
Subjected to laboratory analysis, both were found to be completely free of the promised substances. In their place were only the excipients: water, potassium sorbate, citric acid and natural flavors.
Outlaw labels
In addition to laboratory analysis, Altroconsumo evaluated the labels of 30 slimming dietary supplements.
Only one-New SCT Stack by Ultimate Italia, manufactured in Albania-was found to be in compliance. For all others, various irregularities emerged: from the lack of mandatory information to the use of banned claims, such as ‘helps burn fat‘ or ‘reduces appetite.’
Ministry of Health alerted
The results of the investigation were reported to the Ministry of Health and ecommerce platforms. The most responsive was eBay, which immediately removed the irregular products.
When buying supplements online, it is wise to have some caution, warns Altroconsumo, which recommends: ‘attention to the presence of the mandatory information, (e.g. the name “dietary supplement”; the name of the categories of substances that characterize the product and their quantity referring to the recommended daily dose, which must always be reported; a warning not to exceed the recommended dose name and address of the manufacturer or distributor); this information should be in Italian and easily understandable; important then to turn to reliable sites, where the seller is identifiable, also checking the opinion of other users; be wary of sites with grammatical errors or poorly made machine translations; watch out for prices that are too low‘.
Signs to be wary of
Untrustworthy operators often use some easily recognizable forms of marketing. The consumer association reminds that the alarm bell should go off if the supplement:
– promises to make people lose weight quickly (unlikely and harmful to health); moreover, references to the timing or amount of weight loss are prohibited in the advertising of supplements offered as weight-reduction aids;
– shows the rarely reliable “before” and “after” pictures;
– states that one can lose weight just by taking that product, without changing habits (diet and exercise);
– relies on phantom foreign experts;
– guarantees results, perhaps offering a refund if the hoped-for weight is not lost;
– promises slimming overnight, perhaps in combination with special creams or clothing;
– boasts a generic “no side effects” or “all-natural” (even in nature there is no shortage of dangerous substances).
Marta Strinati
Professional journalist since January 1995, he has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and periodicals (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). She is the author of journalistic surveys on food, she has published the book "Reading labels to know what we eat".
