Rogue supplements: Czech authorities withdraw batch over aluminium concern
The Czech food authorities have ordered a supply of a dietary supplements found to contain several times the “tolerable daily dosage” of aluminium to be withdrawn from the market over health concerns.
The supplier of the rogue batch of dietary supplements, Kamenné zdraví s.r.o, based in Prague, will now a face a fine enforced by the Czech Agriculture and Food Inspection Authority (CAFIA).
The CAFIA said it “had ordered the supplier to immediately withdraw the lot in question from retail network and inform all its customers”.
The dietary supplement is called Schindele’s Mineralien and is made by the Austrian company Robert Schindele GesmbH.
The batch of supplements was found on an inspection by the CAFIA, which checks the market in the Czech Republic for contaminated substances and wrongdoing.
Excessive aluminium
A test of the food supplements found them to contain aluminium amounting to 15,760 milligrams per 1 kg of dry mass of the product, which the CAFIA said was several times over the “tolerable daily dosage”.
It is unclear as to the size of the batch, which the CAFIA said was “unsafe for human health”, which was found, or whether any further batches are to be withdrawn.
The maximum fine that can be levied for such a wrongdoing in the Czech Republic is 50 million Czech Koruna (€186,000) but it is unlikely that Kamenné zdraví s.r.o, which will be levied with the fine, will be hit with the maximum fine.
Supplier to face fine
As a national food inspection authority, the CAFIA is not entitled to fine the Austrian manufacturer, as it outside its jurisdiction, but the Austrian authorities will be informed about the rogue food supplements.
Kamenné zdraví s.r.o will now provide the CAFIA with details of the size of the batch that is being withdrawn.
Pavel Kopriva, CAFIA spokesperson, told Nutra Ingredients: “It’s not unusual that in a segment of food supplements that there are contaminated, and substances that are not legal or certain substances are present in a higher level than would be legal.”
Kamenné zdraví s.r.o could not be contacted and Robert Schindele GesmbH was unavailable for comment.
