Denmark warns over online sports supplements

31-Mar-2011 - Last updated on 01-Apr-2011 at 11:13 GMT

The Danish Food Administration has issued a warning on a range of sports and nutritional supplements sold on Swedish- and Gibraltar-registered website, as it says they contain substances that may affect the central nervous system.

Sublimsport.dk and Sublimsport.com offer a wide range of supplements, many of which are said to originate from well-known brands. However the Danish regulator has identified the presence of Tribulus terrestris L, Huperzin A, or the combination of caffeine and synefrin in some, which it says may affect the central nervous system, as well as cause other ill-effects.

Tribulus terrestris L, for instance, can also affect the liver, while Huperzin A can cause acute muscle tremors and incontinence, even in small doses. Caffeine and synefrin, meanwhile, may also cause cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis, the authority says.

This is not the first time the Danish Food Administration has warned about these substances. However although the websites – especially Sublimsport.dk – are aimed at Danish consumers, they are out of its jurisdiction since they are registered in other countries.

For its part Denmark operates a registration scheme for dietary supplements sold in the country, through which the products tested for illegal substances. It has a website listing registered supplements at www.altomkost.dk/Kosttilskud/forside.htm

The Swedish and UK authorities have been informed about the problem with Sublimsport websites but the issue highlights the problem of policing supplements sold via online channels. Such incidences can have a negative effect on the respectable side of the dietary supplements industry, even though they source with care and traceability.

NutraIngredients.com was unable to contact Sublimsport.com for a comment on how the substances came to be in the products and measures it will take, as the telephone number listed on the website did not work. No immediate response was received to an email enquiry.

Named products

The Danish Food Authority is urging consumers who have purchased the following products from Sublimsport websites to discard them: