thedrifter
05-07-09, 10:12 AM
Hydroxycut pulled after FDA warning
Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Thursday, May 7, 2009
The Army and Air Force Exchange Service pulled the popular dietary supplement Hydroxycut from its shelves last weekend after government health officials urged dieters and bodybuilders to immediately stop using the product.
In a warning Friday, the Food and Drug Administration said it had received 23 reports of serious health problems, ranging from jaundice to elevated liver enzymes, an indicator of potential liver injury.
One person had died of liver failure as a result of using the product, the FDA warning stated.
AAFES sold about $7 million in Hydroxycut products — with names such as Facelift Hydroxycut, Hydroxycut Liquid Shots and Hydroxycut Hardcore — last year worldwide, according to AAFES spokesman Judd Anstey.
Anstey noted that yanking the popular dietary supplement was an AAFES decision and not mandated by the FDA.
Customers may return any unused or partially used Hydroxycut product to AAFES or one of its General Nutrition Center stores for a full refund, he said.
The FDA said the company that makes the supplement has agreed to recall 14 Hydroxycut products, which are also available in grocery stores and stateside pharmacies, The Associated Press reported.
Iovate Health Sciences, which makes the diet pills, said in a statement that the 2007 death, which was reported by the FDA in March, was not caused by Hydroxycut, according to the AP. The statement gave no details.
"The number of adverse event reports described by the FDA in its advisory is small relative to the many millions of people who have used Hydroxycut products over the past seven years," the company statement said. "Iovate’s own assessment of the potential risk associated with the use of these products differs from that expressed by the FDA."
Other health problems reported from using the supplement include seizures, cardiovascular disorders and rhabdomyolysis, a type of muscle damage that can lead to other serious health problems such as kidney failure, the FDA warning stated.
Ellie
Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Thursday, May 7, 2009
The Army and Air Force Exchange Service pulled the popular dietary supplement Hydroxycut from its shelves last weekend after government health officials urged dieters and bodybuilders to immediately stop using the product.
In a warning Friday, the Food and Drug Administration said it had received 23 reports of serious health problems, ranging from jaundice to elevated liver enzymes, an indicator of potential liver injury.
One person had died of liver failure as a result of using the product, the FDA warning stated.
AAFES sold about $7 million in Hydroxycut products — with names such as Facelift Hydroxycut, Hydroxycut Liquid Shots and Hydroxycut Hardcore — last year worldwide, according to AAFES spokesman Judd Anstey.
Anstey noted that yanking the popular dietary supplement was an AAFES decision and not mandated by the FDA.
Customers may return any unused or partially used Hydroxycut product to AAFES or one of its General Nutrition Center stores for a full refund, he said.
The FDA said the company that makes the supplement has agreed to recall 14 Hydroxycut products, which are also available in grocery stores and stateside pharmacies, The Associated Press reported.
Iovate Health Sciences, which makes the diet pills, said in a statement that the 2007 death, which was reported by the FDA in March, was not caused by Hydroxycut, according to the AP. The statement gave no details.
"The number of adverse event reports described by the FDA in its advisory is small relative to the many millions of people who have used Hydroxycut products over the past seven years," the company statement said. "Iovate’s own assessment of the potential risk associated with the use of these products differs from that expressed by the FDA."
Other health problems reported from using the supplement include seizures, cardiovascular disorders and rhabdomyolysis, a type of muscle damage that can lead to other serious health problems such as kidney failure, the FDA warning stated.
Ellie