Some online sellers categorised products as ‘fat burners’ without foundation (Image: Getty)
Online retailers are making outlandish claims about the weight loss benefits of some supplements, an investigation has found. Research by Which? looked at supplements sold on popular online marketplaces and health retailers including Amazon, eBay, Holland & Barrett, Superdrug and Temu. It found many retailers or brands were making claims that did not stand up to scrutiny, seemingly flouting rules about the health claims companies are permitted to make.
Sue Davies, Which? head of consumer policy, said: “It’s really worrying that online marketplaces and popular health retailers are promoting misleading health supplements. Not only does this make it impossible for shoppers to trust the claims they see online but it also means people could be wasting their hard-earned cash on products which just don’t live up to the claims.”
The DHSC holds a health claims register that determines what can be said about a product (Image: Getty)
In one example, the consumer champion saw Extreme Burn supplements by a business called Formula Max 5 listed on eBay.
The product claimed that including raspberry fruit extract “assists the body to burn fat at a higher rate” and the addition of green coffee bean “decreases the absorption of carbohydrates”.
In reality, a slew of weight loss claims for raspberry extract were all rejected by the health claims register — held by the Department of Health and Social Care — due to a lack of compelling evidence.
The claim that green coffee bean “acts by reducing the absorption of sugar (glucose) from the digestive tract” was also rejected.
Which? also found several well-known health retailers like Holland & Barrett and Superdrug had product categories on their websites for “fat burners” and “appetite suppressants”.
However, some of the tablets listed in those categories do not make any weight loss claims.
Some products advertising about online marketplaces also made unfounded claims to target certain areas of the body or be as effective as weight loss jabs.
The Advertising Standards Authority rules state that products cannot say how much weight customers lose or how quickly, or from which part of the body, as this is something brands cannot predict.
The consumer champion reported all its findings to the retailers, leading to more than 50 misleading weight-loss supplement listings being taken down.
It called on the Government to ensure there is strong enforcement in place so companies breaking the rules are held to account.
Ms Davies added: “Better oversight of the industry is desperately needed so the government and regulators can crack down on these misleading listings and ensure that any sellers who break the rules are properly held to account.”
The research was carried out in November and December. A Government spokesperson said: “Food labels must be easy to understand, accurate and honest.
“Any claims about the health benefits or nutritional value of supplements need to be backed by science and officially approved by authorities.
“Companies that break these rules may be subject to enforcement action by local authorities.”
Superdrug said consumer’s health and well being was “always a priority” and it has “paused all retailing of the highlighted product” and reviewed the category in question.
Holland and Barrett said its science and regulatory teams regularly carried out reviews of product categorisation and it had moved the product categories by Which?.
Spokespeople for Amazon, Ebay and Temu also confirmed that the highlighted products had been removed.
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