The Danish Veterinary and Food Administration, Foedevarestyrelsen, warned consumers against the use of the dietary supplement after a risk assessment by the DTU Food Institute revealed that the plant ingredient Acacia rigidula contained naturally occurring amphetamine-like substances including β-phenyl-ethyl-amine (β-PEA) and its derivative N, N-di-methyl-phenyl-ethyl-amine (N, N-DMPEA).
The substances were subject to an investigation by the Swedish National Food Agency (NFA) and its municipal authorities last month after they were implicated in a medical report on the brain haemorrhage of an apparently healthy woman who had consumed them through the pre-workout supplement ‘Jacked Power’.
Sofie Søe, an officer for the Danish authority’s special task force for food supplements, told NutraIngredients that the plant did not have novel approval for food supplements.
Ingredient list
Konjac (Root), Cissus Quadrangularis Extract (Seeds), Rhodiola Rosea Extract (Root), Dextrose.
P.E.A. 7 Proprietary Complex ( 75 mg): Acacia Rigidula P.E. (Plant), Phenylethylamine, N,N-Dimethylphenylethylamine, N, N-Dimethyl-a-methylphenylethylamine, N,N-methyl-b-phenylethylamine, 3, 4 dimethoxy-5-hydroxy-b-phenethylamine, tyramine, hordenine).
Epichasine Proprietary Complex (100 mg): White Tea, Green Tea, Kuding Tea containing 80% Polyphenols, 60% EGC, DL-C, EGCG, EC, OCG, ECG (from leaves), Dextrose.
Caffeine (anhydrous) 275mg*
Søe said her team, which was assigned the task of scouring the Internet for substances that had been flagged as potentially dangerous and/or had been banned in the country, had been prompted to search for Jacked Power after
receiving a heads-up from the Swedish agency. Instead it found this weight loss product, which DTU Food Institute verified as containing the same substances under slightly different chemical names.
Tracing back responsibility
The Danish authority has been unable to contact the company.
Søe said the product had been marketed to Danish consumers in Danish on a website, www.bodystore.dk, that appeared to be registered to Sweden.
She said that there was not much they could if the company was Swedish, except issue a warning and contact the relevant national authorities and the company. The Swedish authorities have been notified.
The Danish notice warned consumers to take extra precaution when buying products online, particularly if the website is not registered in Denmark and there is no sign of Danish activity such as a Danish address, meaning it would not be subject to Danish food inspections. Søe said consumers should do their own research before buying such an ‘unknown’ product.