A research letter published in the Journal of the American Medical Association this week found that drugs banned and recalled by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) were still being sold in dietary supplements.  The researchers note that the FDA uses Class I recalls when products have a reasonable possibility of causing a serious adverse health consequence or even death.  The FDA has been using these types of recalls to pull dietary supplements that contain pharmaceutical ingredients that were already banned or recalled.

Since 2004, about half of the Class I recalls were for dietary supplements.  Previous research showed that, even after a recall, dietary supplements can still be found on store shelves.  This study focused on determining if the supplements being sold still contained the banned pharmaceutical ingredients.  Researchers looked at 27 supplements purchased, on average, about one year after the FDA recall.  Alarmingly, two-thirds of the recalled supplements still contained a product banned by the FDA for serious health and safety reasons.

According to the New York Times, the majority of the supplements were marketed for weight loss, exercise, and sexual enhancement.  These products were available in a variety of mainstream settings across the country, including convenience stores and health food shops.  They were also available online.  Ingredients of concern included steroids and prescription drugs, which were either banned or should not have been available without a prescription.

Some of the issues have been the result of manufacturers refusing to adhere to the FDA recall and ingredient restrictions.  Still, there are some manufacturers that attribute the problem to counterfeit supplement manufacturers, reports USA Today.  In either scenario, the recommendation is a stronger enforcement effort by the FDA.