Australia Issues DMAA Supplement Warning, Considers Ban

Australia just issued a DMAA supplement warning and is considering a ban of the controversial supplement.

According to Nutra Ingredients, Australia’s Federal Department of Health and Ageing and its Advisory Committee on Medicines Scheduling will be meeting at month’s end when the matter will be “urgently discussed.” Meanwhile, the ban, issued by FSANZ Deputy Chief Executive Melanie Fisher warns, “Consumer that have purchased the sports food products… should not consume the product and discard it…. The New South Wales Food Authority has tested 12 of these products and 11 have tested positive for DMAA.” The products listed are Noxpump, 3-D Explosion, Beta-Cret, PreSurge, 1MF, Cyroshock, Jack3D, Mesomorph, Neurocore, Oxyelite Powder, and Hemo Rage Black.

Fisher also said that “DMAA has been linked in other countries with various adverse health effects including high blood pressure and vomiting and there have been a couple of adverse health reports in Australia…. Regulatory agencies are working together to assess the products’ safety and are currently seeking the assistance of retailers, importers, and distributors on a withdrawal of the products,” wrote Nutra Ingredients.

Nutra Ingredients also noted that New Zealand has classified DMAA as a narcotic and the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) issued warning letters to DMMA-containing supplement makers over products such as Jack3D, OxyElite, Hemo Rage Black, and Dexaprine. In South Australia, one news outlet reported on three 17-year-olds who took DMAA supplements. One of the teen’s mothers described her son on the supplement, stating “I’ve noticed David on it and it’s like he had a huge line of speed. He was really hyper and jumpy but focused. I don’t like it but I don’t want him to hide it from me.

According to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), DMAA is a prohibited substance and was the cause of 123 doping bans in 2010, the most of any banned substance, said Nutra Ingredients. Meanwhile, Luca Bucchinia, an Italian-based EU food law expert said that data is being compiled that could lead to additional actions in Europe, adding to those in Denmark and the UK. “It is probable that several adverse events have occurred in Europe, as well, but have not been publicized yet,” he said, wrote Nutra Ingredients. “The products are not safe, and it is hard to know beforehand if you are at risk for adverse effects. The sports nutrition industry in the EU would benefit form better regulation,” Bucchinia added.

Yesterday, we wrote that a DMAA class action lawsuit was given a green light, which means that makers of DMAA diet supplements will be facing class-action claims against products containing a powerful and controversial stimulant. Body builders use DMAA pre-workout and fat-melting supplements to obtain a sense of energy that many feel provides them with drive and mental focus. But, regulators and others criticize the supplement over links to adverse physical reactions. Some experts say the chemical is marketed like a natural geranium substance but is, in fact, a pharmaceutical compound that requires more stringent federal oversight.

DMAA, or 1,3-dimethylamylamine or methylhexaneamine, received its patent decades ago as a nasal decongestant and is similar in composition to ephedrine and amphetamine. Today, DMAA can be found in over 200 products and DMAA-containing supplements have been implicated in the recent deaths of two U.S. soldiers who had traces of the chemical in their systems following their post-workout deaths on military bases. DMAA supplements have also been linked to other, less serious complications sufficiently significant to warrant a warning letter from the FDA. Complications cited included panic attacks, dizziness, and seizures.