False claims over fat burning product worry officials

Ripped Freak weight loss supplement. Photo / Supplied

A website selling a popular weight loss product has dropped a claim that the pills have Medsafe approval.

And sports officials are warning athletes who take the product, Ripped Freak, that they run the risk of violating drug rules.

Drug Free Sport NZ spokeswoman Jayne Kernohan says an elite athlete is currently before the Sports Tribunal of New Zealand after testing positive for geranium - a banned stimulant found in Ripped Freak and other weight-loss products.

On Wednesday, Shotgunsupplements.co.nz removed from its website a claim that Ripped Freak had been passed by MedSafe, part of the Ministry of Health.

Ripped Freak contains geranium extract, also known as dimethylamylamine hydrochloride, DMAA and methylhexanamine - the same stimulant found in recreational party pills. Ripped Freak labelling says it is "hands down the most powerful fat burner available". It also says users will "lose 21 per cent body fat fast".

A Ministry of Health spokeswoman said: "The product has not been approved by Medsafe. DMAA is a non-approved hazardous substance under the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act."

DMAA has also been banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency and Drug Free Sport NZ.

Shotgun Supplements director Andy Hill said the statement was put on the website by mistake. "It was just a typo that was entered in," he said.

Ripped Freak's New Zealand distributor, Mark Landale, says the product is a safe supplement for people wanting to increase energy and lose weight - so long as the consumer is responsible: "The onus comes back to the individual."

But Drug Foundation chief executive Ross Bell said suppliers and retailers needed to take more responsibility. He is also concerned that DMAA is being added to weight-loss pills.

"This stimulant was used as a Nasal decongestant in the 1970s and now it's replacing BZP in party pills."