European sports nutrition sector working to ban killer weight loss aid DNP
Dr Adam Carey, Chair of the European Specialist Sports Nutrition Alliance said the chemical had no place in sports nutrition and everything was being done to remove it from market.
“DNP is a chemical which has nothing to do with either sport or nutrition. This chemical is a plant fertiliser,” Dr Carey said in the wake of recent deaths in the UK reported recently in The Guardian, that led to calls for its classification as a narcotic.
“It should not be available to the public in any form for consumption. It is unacceptable that products containing DNP are available over the internet and we are fully behind the families campaigning for it to be classified as a class-C drug.”
“We hope that the UK National Crime Agency’s (NCA) work with the FSA will help crack down on all the distributors that put consumers’ lives at risk. I personally would like to express my condolences to those families who have lost loved ones because of this dangerous substance.”
He said ESSNA had been acting as a watchdog by informing authorities of outlets that continue to illegally the chemical as a food supplement.
“Often these products are being sold from websites based overseas or by blatantly criminal enterprises that have little or nothing to do with the sports nutrition industry here in Europe,” he said.
“We urge all consumers to be very careful about the content of the products they are purchasing and to make sure they are buying from reputable retailers and manufacturers.”
A scan today found sites like this and this continue to sell DNP.
The FSA said it was working with police and local authorities and was focusing on internet sales.
“The FSA will be providing local authorities with relevant support, including financial assistance to help with this work. We are reminding companies, including internet traders, of the criminal sanctions available to the courts to deal with any person or company found to be supplying DNP products for consumption.”
