The agency has been vigilant against the substance for many years, issuing several warnings, and it noted that there had been 40 cases of contamination last year, mostly in food supplements.
“Sibutramine is an active substance used to reduce weight. Previously, it was authorised in medicines for treatment of obesity,” the agency said.
“But in January 2010, all sibutramine-containing products were suspended from the European market on the basis of a risk assessment from the European Medicines Agency (EMA). The risk assessment showed that the risk of cardiovascular diseases outweighed the health benefits of weight loss from sibutramine.”