The FDA has issued safety alerts about more than 1,400 weight loss and detox products sold online that contain undisclosed pharmaceutical ingredients, prescription-strength laxatives, or botanical compounds with known liver toxicity. Products marketed as natural or herbal are not required to undergo safety testing before being sold, and the FDA can only act after adverse events are reported.
Drug-induced liver injury attributable to herbal and dietary supplement products has risen 47 percent over ten years, with weight loss products and body-building supplements accounting for the majority of serious cases. The American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases has called for pre-market safety assessment of supplements, a reform that would require legislative action given the current regulatory framework established by the 1994 Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act.
