Korea blocks 37 imported supplements marketed for focus and growth

South Korea's food and drug safety ministry said Thursday it has blocked the import of 37 out of 60 overseas direct-purchase food products advertised as boosting concentration or promoting height growth, after tests found banned ingredients or labels naming them.

The inspection, carried out with the Korea Consumer Agency ahead of the national college entrance exam, targeted products marketed to parents concerned about their children's study performance and health, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said. The consumer agency bought the products and the ministry tested them.

Eighteen of the 30 products claiming to sharpen concentration carried labels for ingredients barred from import, including bacopa, deanol and L-dopa. Laboratory analysis detected vinpocetine in two products and kava kava in one; the ministry noted that vinpocetine and L-dopa are prescription medicine ingredients that should be used only under a doctor's diagnosis and prescription.

Among the 30 products claiming to promote height growth, 19 listed barred ingredients such as 5-HTP, citrulline and dolomite, while tests detected 5-HTP in six products and melatonin in one. Some products declared melatonin that was not detected while others contained it without saying so.

The ministry asked the Korea Customs Service to hold the products at customs and the Korea Communications Standards Commission to block access to online sales sites. It also requested that the products be barred from sale and that administrative action be taken against the businesses that acted as purchasing agents for them.

Details of the 37 products, including product names, manufacturers, the banned ingredients and photographs, were posted on the ministry's Overseas Direct-Purchase Food portal, which lists 5,048 products flagged for banned ingredients as of Oct. 26.

"Overseas direct-purchase food bought by individuals for their own consumption carries a risk of harm from hazardous ingredients," the ministry said. "Before buying such a product, consumers must check the Overseas Direct-Purchase Food site to see whether it contains ingredients subject to import blocks, and should not buy products registered as hazardous."

The flagged products came from manufacturers and distributors in the United States, Canada, Japan, Germany, New Zealand, China and India, with many sold by US distributors.