Supplement brands, Amazon and FDA weigh in on counterfeit products
Industry experts contend issues with counterfeit dietary supplement products sold on Amazon remain, as well as Amazon’s practice of poor communication.
August 16, 2023
In April, two supplement brands, NOW and Fungi Perfecti, identified counterfeits of a number of branded products sold on Amazon, the largest retailer of supplement products.
The e-commerce giant, which has come under fire in recent years for failing to act to thwart sales of subpar supplements sold on its site, was effective in blocking the sales of the counterfeit products, the companies reported.
However, industry experts contend issues with supplement counterfeiters on the platform remain, as well as Amazon’s stalwart practice of poor communication.
The counterfeit problem
NOW reported in April that a company operating under the name of A2X1 was selling 11 different counterfeit NOW supplements on Amazon. These included such products as NOW’s Adam Male Multi softgels, D-Mannose 500 mg capsules, and lutein and zeaxanthin capsules, among others.
The products resembled NOW products in appearance, but all of them—including those listed on Amazon as tablets or softgels—contained small white capsules with an odorless white powder later identified by NOW as white rice flour.
Some of the samples tested by NOW contained trace amounts of the pharmaceutical sildenafil. Sildenafil is the active pharmaceutical ingredient found in “Viagra,” which the Food and Drug Administration approved as a new drug in 1998 to treat men with erectile dysfunction.
Also in April, Fungi Perfecti reported multiple counterfeits of four of its Host Defense Mushrooms branded products were being sold on Amazon, including its MyCommunity, Stamets 7, Lion's Mane and Turkey Tail products.
The company said the counterfeit products, which were identified by packaging and ingredient irregularities, were being sold by more than 20 storefronts on Amazon.
Importantly, some of the counterfeit products tested positive for soy and gluten. These are two known allergens that are not included in any of its authentic Host Defense Mushrooms supplements.
Communication challenges
Dan Richard, vice president of global sales and marketing at NOW Health Group, said NOW contacted Amazon via email on a Friday afternoon following the discovery to report the fraudulent products to the retailer. The company also alerted Amazon by phone for emergency service as a consumer.
“We did view this as an emergency because we did not know what material was in the small white capsules yet, but we knew it was not the correct product,” Richard said.
After following up with more emails to Amazon, NOW “did finally get their attention” to have the products blocked from sale by the following Tuesday.
On April 11, Amazon agreed to block all sales by the seller A2X1.
“Difficulty in communicating with Amazon is a big ongoing concern,” Richard added.
It’s a concern shared by others in the industry. Diana Morgan, vice president of global and regulatory affairs at Nutrabolt, has almost 20 years of experience working in the dietary supplements industry, including time at Pfizer Consumer Healthcare working with one of the world’s leading multivitamins.
“We had a lot of legal issues and, oftentimes with those counterfeit products, they're not what they say on the label,” Morgan shared. “It's [intellectual property] theft on top of that.”
After identifying the counterfeit products on Amazon, she said, Pfizer’s internal teams were charged with working with Amazon to remove the counterfeit products.
“Trying to get ahold of someone at Amazon is very difficult,” she said. “That's a big pain point.”
This is where Amazon needs to “step up,” according to Dan Fabricant, Ph.D., president and CEO of Natural Products Association (NPA).
“When they get notified of this information, they need to do something about it,” he explained. “They're not, and they're also not talking to groups like [NPA]. They're not talking to the manufacturers. You send 'em emails on this, you send 'em information and they go into a hole. How does that resolve anything?”
Amazon’s enforcement
Importantly, Richard said Amazon’s follow-up on the case was “very good.” The response included Amazon’s Counterfeit Crimes Unit, which worked together with NOW to share information.
Within two weeks, Amazon sent a notice to each purchaser about the fake products, Richard said.
“I was a personal buyer of a few of these products and two other NOW employees also purchased fake products,” he continued. “We each received a notice to destroy the product and not return it.” Amazon also issued refunds for the purchases.
In a statement, Fungi Perfecti said it immediately reported its findings to Amazon.
“Amazon has since removed the counterfeit products from their store and notified affected customers,” the company said.
Morgan, too, cited “significant improvements in Amazon in the documentation that they require for brands.”
In 2020, Amazon updated its policies to require supplement brands to maintain three pieces of documentation in order to sell their products on its platform: a certificate of analysis (CoA) from an ISO/IEC 17025-accredited laboratory for each supplement; product images; and a letter of guarantee from the product manufacturer, including an assurance that the supplement is produced under FDA’s current good manufacturing practices (cGMPs) incorporated in 21 CFR Part 111.
The move toward tighter requirements for supplements quality was largely applauded by industry.
However, supplement quality control on Amazon continues to be a concern. A years-long independent testing program of a range of lesser-known supplements on Amazon revealed a number of the products consistently fall below requirements for potency.