CHICAGO – Dietary supplements containing potentially dangerous prescription drug ingredients may still be for sale even years after safety recalls.
That’s according to researchers who bought supplements online that had been recalled for containing drugs. They detected hidden steroids, similar ingredients to Viagra and Prozac and a weight loss drug linked with heart attacks
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Of 27 products tested, 17 still had the same drug that prompted the recalls.
READ MORE: Bashful? Buy the little blue pill online
The researchers say manufacturers are putting profit ahead of consumer health and that lax oversight by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is contributing to the problem.
The study appears in Wednesday’s Journal of the American Medical Association.
A supplement industry group says regulators should crack down on rogue companies.
The FDA has issued warnings but says companies can be hard to track down.
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