[Asia Economy Reporter Byeon Seon-jin] ‘Effective methods for directly purchasing foreign diet drugs (foods).’
Simply searching keywords on online sites reveals many posts sharing methods to directly purchase overseas foods. The author of one such post said, “Since there are many obese people in the United States, diet drugs are more advanced than in Korea,” and “These overseas foods are not officially imported into Korea, so you have to buy them through an agent, but the effects appear immediately.” On the overseas sites selling these diet products, appetite suppressants containing ingredients that can cause heart attacks and strokes were openly sold.
Increase in direct overseas food purchases due to non-face-to-face consumption, but problems remain
Since the spread of non-face-to-face consumption after COVID-19, many people have been purchasing diet drugs, muscle enhancement drugs, and sexual function improvement drugs through direct overseas purchases. However, caution is required as improper intake can lead to serious side effects. Because in the transaction process of overseas direct purchase, where consumers receive products directly from sellers, even if harmful substances are included in the foods, it is difficult for the relevant authorities to filter them out. The number of overseas direct purchase food transactions increased sharply by 242.2% over five years, from 7.8 million cases in 2017 to 26.69 million cases in 2021.
According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) on the 17th, out of 3,000 overseas direct purchase foods purchased and tested last year, 273 products (9.1%) were found to contain harmful substances. Among the inspected products, those claiming sexual function improvement effects accounted for the highest proportion of harmful substances detected at 46.0% (75 products), followed by muscle enhancement effect products at 29.6% (61 products) and diet effect products at 11.7% (60 products).
In sexual function improvement products, harmful substances such as ‘tadalafil,’ ‘sildenafil,’ and ‘yohimbine’ were detected. Tadalafil and sildenafil, ingredients used in erectile dysfunction treatments, can cause myocardial infarction, sudden cardiac death, ventricular arrhythmia, and angina, so consumption by individuals with cardiovascular diseases can lead to serious health problems. Yohimbine is used as a veterinary drug and its side effects include lowered blood pressure, increased heart rate, nervousness, and depression. The detection rate of harmful substances in sexual function improvement products increased from 1.8% (2 out of 114 cases) in 2019 to 46.0% (75 out of 163 cases) last year.
With the so-called ‘Ounwan’ craze, where people certify their daily exercise on social networking services (SNS), muscle enhancement products are also purchased through overseas direct purchase. However, some products were found to contain harmful substances such as ‘anabolic steroids’ and ‘selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs).’ Anabolic steroids are prescription drugs strictly used under medical supervision to treat osteoporosis and growth failure. Abuse can cause side effects such as hair loss, testicular shrinkage, gynecomastia in men, and masculinization and menstrual irregularities in women. SARMs are substances that can cause heart attacks, strokes, and liver damage.
Diet effect products are the most searched product group online. However, the harmful substance detected in these products, ‘sennoside,’ is an ingredient used in constipation treatment drugs and has no effect on fat breakdown or reduction. Excessive intake can cause diarrhea, abdominal pain, and vomiting. ‘5-Hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP),’ used as a sedative and other medications, is also abused as a diet effect product, and there is a high risk of side effects such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and appetite loss including gastrointestinal disorders.
Among overseas direct purchase foods, pharmaceutical raw materials that cannot be used as food ingredients domestically were also detected. Representative examples include ‘black cohosh’ and ‘pipsissewa’ detected in products claiming menopausal symptom relief effects, and ‘L-citrulline’ and ‘fava bean’ found in products claiming immune enhancement effects.
“Due to the nature of overseas direct purchase, it is difficult to manage and supervise each case individually”
Since 2008, the MFDS has directly purchased overseas direct purchase foods and requested customs to withhold clearance and the Korea Communications Commission to block access to online sales sites for foods found to contain harmful substances, thereby preventing their import. However, as overseas direct purchase transactions increase, there are concerns that it is difficult to manage and supervise all harmful overseas direct purchase foods circulating in the market. The MFDS is working on establishing legal grounds for systematic management and urges consumers to purchase foods that have undergone official import inspection procedures whenever possible.
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