The product from brand Biofood contained a massive 400 international units (294 mg) of vitamin E – well over the 12 mg per day set for adults.
The country’s warning followed a RASFF (Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed) notification which stated the product from China and packaged in Germany had been moved via the Netherlands to Luxembourg.
It appears the global network of national food safety authorities managed by the FAO and WHO, the International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN), was also involved in the investigation.
Luxembourg said deficiencies in vitamin E were rare and excessive intakes of the vitamin was stored by the liver and had been associated with the onset of certain cancers.
It urged consumers not to take the product, ‘Vitamin E hochdosiert’, which was and still is available on Amazon. On the German Amazon site the product was listed as a number one bestseller.
The authority urged consumers not buy supplements online.
In its advice it said: “When purchasing food supplements on the internet, it is not guaranteed that Luxembourg or European legislation is respected.”
Last month a report from the European Commission highlighted the need for greater harmonisation on supplements in a time when commerce was increasingly online.
Earlier this year 107 unlicensed St John’s Wort products were removed from the UK Amazon website following a joint investigation by the Health Food Manufacturers' Association (HFMA) and the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).