FDA Urges Consumers to Discontinue Use of Muscle Growth Supplement

WashingtonConsumers should immediately stop taking Mass Destruction, a dietary supplement that is marketed for muscle growth and contains potentially harmful synthetic steroids, FDA cautioned Monday.

According to a news release from FDA, a 28-year-old man who took the product for several weeks suffered liver failure, requiring a liver transplant. FDA said the man was previously healthy. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reported the man's injury. (The state agency was not immediately available for comment).

FDA is analyzing the product's ingredients and seeking to identify the manufacturer of Mass Destruction, which was made for Sims, N.C.-based Blunt Force Nutrition, according to the news release.

The supplement is sold in retail stores, fitness gyms and on the Internet.   

FDA cautioned consumers that anabolic steroids can cause such injuries as increased risk of heart attack and stroke, masculinization of women, shrinking of the testicles, infertility in males and short stature in children.

"Consumers who suspect they are experiencing problems associated with Mass Destruction or other body building products should consult a health care professional, especially if they have experienced unexplained fatigue, abdominal or back pain, discolored urine, or any other unexplained changes in their health," FDA advised.

A number listed online for Blunt Force Nutrition was disconnected or no longer in service. The company is registered as a corporation in Sims, N.C., according to the North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State. No phone number is listed in the company's annual report.

An ecommerce site, Black Diamond Supplements, advertises Mass Destruction. A man named Sam answered the phone but declined to reveal his last name or title. He said he was unaware of the FDA notification or any request to stop selling the product. He said the company had a few remaining bottles of the supplement.

When informed that Mass Destruction was linked to an injury, he said that an injury tied to liver or kidney failure is likely related to misuse of a product such as taking a larger dosage than stated on the label.

"They [consumers] think they are smarter than the manufacturers or they think they are smarter than the people who recommend the products to them," he said.

FDA wasn't immediately available to comment on whether Blunt Force Nutrition has agreed to stop selling the supplement.