Food ministry uncovers 23 sellers of exam-season supplements making false claims

The food and drug safety ministry said Wednesday it had caught 23 businesses selling ordinary foods as concentration-boosting supplements for students sitting the national college entrance exam, in a market worth about 7.1 billion won ($5.36 million) in sales of 410,000 boxes.

The ministry said it had asked local governments to take administrative action against the businesses and had filed complaints against them. The checks were carried out to stop sellers from exploiting the anxiety of students and their parents ahead of the exam.

The products were marketed as candies, sugar-processed goods and other ordinary foods, not as health functional foods certified for any effect on concentration. Sellers claimed the products improved focus and memory, helped prevent or treat conditions such as ADHD and depression, or could be mistaken for registered health supplements.

Some businesses used hashtags and search advertising with phrases such as "Daechi-dong supplement" and "high school senior supplement" to draw in students and parents, the ministry said. It named Daewoong Pharmaceutical's Enercysil Focus Shot among the products caught, citing its use of hashtags for high school seniors and its advertising of a test combining L-theanine and caffeine.

Ten of the products inspected contained guarana extract, a source of caffeine. The ministry warned that eating too much of a product containing caffeine and other ingredients of that kind could bring on insomnia, anxiety and heart palpitations.

The best-selling product contained 100 milligrams of caffeine per pack — 80 percent of the recommended daily maximum for a teenager weighing 50 kilograms, and all of it for one weighing 40 kilograms. The recommended daily limit for children and adolescents is 2.5 milligrams of caffeine or less per kilogram of body weight. The ministry advised against repeated consumption in the hope of improving concentration, and said drinking coffee or energy drinks alongside them could push a teenager past the daily limit.

"Do not be misled by advertisements claiming that concentration or learning ability improves, and if symptoms such as reduced concentration or attention deficit persist, consult a specialist," Food and Drug Safety Minister Oh Yu-kyoung said.

The ministry said it would keep up its scrutiny of false advertising that plays on students' hopes and parents' worries, and would take strict action against businesses that repeatedly advertise in this way.