'Unsafe' nutraceuticals products on the Internet: The need for stricter regulation in Malaysia
Nutraceutical products are functional foods consumed by many for its proclaimed benefits to health. Most nutraceutical products are not pharmaceutical drugs, hence has been treated as food. This made nutraceutical regulation more difficult since they do not fall under the jurisdiction of pharmac...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Conference or Workshop Item |
| Language: | English English |
| Published: |
IEEE
2017
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://irep.iium.edu.my/62946/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/62946/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/62946/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/62946/1/62946%20Unsafe%20%20Nutraceuticals%20Products%20on%20the%20Internet.pdf http://irep.iium.edu.my/62946/2/62946%20%E2%80%98Unsafe%E2%80%99%20Nutraceuticals%20Products%20on%20the%20Internet%20SCOPUS.pdf |
| Summary: | Nutraceutical products are functional foods consumed by
many for its proclaimed benefits to health. Most nutraceutical
products are not pharmaceutical drugs, hence has been treated as
food. This made nutraceutical regulation more difficult since they
do not fall under the jurisdiction of pharmaceutical regulatory
authorities. Accordingly, Control of Drugs and Cosmetics
Regulation 1984 and related legislations do not bind nutraceutical
producers. This puts them away from direct monitoring and
supervision from the Drug Control Authority (DCA). It is feared that
lack of monitoring, unsupervised and unregulated production of
nutraceutical products in a long run and for a long use could harm
consumers. To add to the problem, nutraceutical products have been
easily marketed through social media. Online sellers made
‘attractive’ claims that these products could cure even the most
serious diseases. This paper examines the definitions of
nutraceutical products and its regulatory frameworks in popular
jurisdictions. It then proceeds to highlight the problem in lack of
regulatory controls over nutraceutical products, which causes harms
to consumers. This is worsened when social media has been
effectively used to market these products – where some online sellers
went up to the extent of making false claims to attract customers’
attention. The paper concludes with the finding that Food Act 1983
needs to address purchases of nutraceutical products through online
channels. In particular, when a product was found to make false
claims, the Food Act 1983 must also be empowered to have notice
and takedown procedures – so that online customers will not be
deceived by such claims. |
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