Philippine FDA cautions public on misleading promotions of food/dietary supplements

The Philippine Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned Saturday the public from misleading advertisements and promotions of food/dietary supplements (F/DS). FDA Acting Director General Kenneth Hartigan-Go admitted that his office is "seriously concerned" over the massive marketing of F/DS which may have often misled some consumers to buy them as drugs or medicines. "FDA strongly advises the public that food/dietary supplements are merely adjunct nutritional substance to support food intake and are not meant to replace prescribed drugs and medicines especially those that are supposed to be taken as maintenance medicine (for hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes, cancer, etc.), " he said. The FDA also issued the warning after discovering recently an unregistered food/dietary supplement product in the market containing raw 500 milligrams of Cayenne powder or powdered chili pepper per capsule of 100/plastic container. "Upon closer inspection of the principal display panel, the product is an appetite suppressant and fat metabolizer, which are drug therapeutic claims not substantiated by any clinical trial data to establish safety and efficacy," Go said. He stressed that consumers should be vigilant and always read the product labels, noting that "Food Supplement" and "No Approved Therapeutic Claims" should always be printed on the principal display panel.