Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Amazon receives FDA warning letter for supplements with undeclared ingredients

fda.gov

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 433 posts

Re: Amazon receives FDA warning letter for supplements with undeclared ingredients

#31

Post by jupp0r »

duxup wrote: post #18

More and more Amazon just seems like a "you're on your own" scam site. I can't figure out what I'm getting anymore. Half the listings are sponsored ads when I search. I searched for "Lego" this past Christmas and on the first page I got a bunch of products that were in what looked just like Lego boxes with Lego fonts and numbering ... but were not made by Lego and were clearly made to deceive. I noticed some items I…

The customer service is pretty amazing compared to most other stores, at least in my opinion. Returns are easy and free, and you get a replacement shipped right away but have weeks to return the item.

Re: Amazon receives FDA warning letter for supplements with undeclared ingredients

#33

Post by dec0dedab0de »

bpodgursky wrote: post #12
Sanzig wrote: post #6

> FDA confirmed through laboratory analyses that the “MANNERS Energy Boost,” “Round 2,” “Genergy,” and “X Max Triple Shot Energy Honey” products, purchased on www.amazon.com, contained the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) tadalafil; and the “WeFun,” “Big Guys Male Energy Supplement,” and “Mens Maximum Energy Supplement” products, also purchased on www.amazon.com, contained the API sildenafil. These ingredients…

Can we have an honest conversation about whether there's any good reason for Viagra to require a prescription? The barrier right now is that you have to waste 2 hours and $100 to tell a doctor that you have ED. What's the point? It's not stopping anyone except people too poor or busy to jump through the hoops.

The reason is to check for preexisting conditions and negative interactions with other medicines. Also, the barrier is even lower than what you say with companies like blue chew, hims, etc.

Re: Amazon receives FDA warning letter for supplements with undeclared ingredients

#34

Post by toomuchtodo »

bilbo0s wrote: post #17
toomuchtodo wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The FDA likely needs a data team if they don’t have one already to monitor Amazon for ongoing compliance. Similar to the SEC’s data team that monitors capital market data flows for anomalies that would indicate illegal behavior. My two cents: good market to be looking for good data folks who might want a (potentially remote) federal agency data job with shakiness in tech. https://usajobs.github.io/microsite-data-scie…

If you've ever been with a startup that needed a 510k, you'd know that the FDA regularly monitors everyone for compliance. At least in my narrow domain of medical imaging and treatment planning devices they do. I'd be surprised if they didn't have similar mechanisms in place in every area of their 'jurisdiction'. It doesn't really hurt the Amazons, they're just distributors. Doesn't really even hurt me. If RTP is a p…

I am not unsympathetic to the disparity you mention, but am advocating that distributor gorillas (like Amazon, but others as well) need strong controls (both regulatory and technical) due to their incentives to not be compliant and the potential negative outcomes (illness, perhaps death even, depending on material and consumer) from non compliance.

Re: Amazon receives FDA warning letter for supplements with undeclared ingredients

#35

Post by notyourwork »

thedougd wrote: post #32

Do American grocery stores have better controls or does their broker model just happen to filter the junk?

I wonder the same thing. It seems like something that at Amazon scale we pick on but at physical store scale we discard as not possible.

Re: Amazon receives FDA warning letter for supplements with undeclared ingredients

#36

Post by dopa42365 »

pbj1968 wrote: post #16

Heard a talk once by someone that managed nutrition for an NFL team. She said periodically clusters of players would pop positive for meth and inevitably it would be some new supplement that was giving them results and they told all their teammates about it. They’d just tell them to quit using it and move on. Interesting story, possibly true.

Any even remotely WADA compliant drug testing uses chromatography, this story is most likely false.

Re: Amazon receives FDA warning letter for supplements with undeclared ingredients

#37

Post by arcticfox »

noodlesUK wrote: post #26

I think with the state of things, Amazon should be completely banned from selling anything that might be construed a supplement. They have such lax controls that your protein powder or vitamin pills might contain pretty much anything. Even reputable brands bought from their brand storefront might be counterfeit [1]. You’d be shocked at the number of things that are counterfeit. A friend of mine recently bought a nich…

I used to think my wife was silly for spending more at beauty stores for her skincare products, but after realizing how insane Amazon's quality controls are, I think someone needs to actually shut them down. I wonder if there are any grounds for lawsuits. The number of counterfeit products they sell, even under "Sold by Amazon.com" is WILD. Zero supply chain discipline.

Re: Amazon receives FDA warning letter for supplements with undeclared ingredients

#38

Post by floatrock »

gruez wrote: post #14
jeffrallen wrote: post #4

Cool! Now do their crappy cords that are likely to burn down your house. Amazon Basics should be terminated with prejudice.

I checked a random amazon basics powerstrip and there's an ETL certification mark on them. As much as it's popular to hate on amazon for fakes/subquality products, your particular example is a poor one. https://m.media-amazon.com/images/W/MEDIAX_792452-T2/images/...

EV Chargers then. Search for Level 2 EV Charger. The number of generic chineesium chargers available that will move 40amps of power in your garage without UL or ETL certification is mind-boggingly high.

I've seen some advertise "UL Safety Report", which I assume is weasel-words for "We failed UL certification so we can't actually say the magic phrase 'UL Listed'".

I've seen some claim to be UL Listed without being able to find them on the UL site.

Sure, it's nice to buy a cheap chinesium drone, but something moving 40amps of power and heat in your home without accepted safety checks? That feels like something that should have some liability on the merchant's side when it burns something down.

Re: Amazon receives FDA warning letter for supplements with undeclared ingredients

#39

Post by uniformlyrandom »

noodlesUK wrote: post #26

I think with the state of things, Amazon should be completely banned from selling anything that might be construed a supplement. They have such lax controls that your protein powder or vitamin pills might contain pretty much anything. Even reputable brands bought from their brand storefront might be counterfeit [1]. You’d be shocked at the number of things that are counterfeit. A friend of mine recently bought a nich…

> Amazon needs to stop co-mingling inventory

That alone would solve 99% of the problems, as dedicated inventory would allow to quickly weed out the bad actors.

Re: Amazon receives FDA warning letter for supplements with undeclared ingredients

#40

Post by tacheiordache »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #34
bilbo0s wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you've ever been with a startup that needed a 510k, you'd know that the FDA regularly monitors everyone for compliance. At least in my narrow domain of medical imaging and treatment planning devices they do. I'd be surprised if they didn't have similar mechanisms in place in every area of their 'jurisdiction'. It doesn't really hurt the Amazons, they're just distributors. Doesn't really even hurt me. If RTP is a p…

I am not unsympathetic to the disparity you mention, but am advocating that distributor gorillas (like Amazon, but others as well) need strong controls (both regulatory and technical) due to their incentives to not be compliant and the potential negative outcomes (illness, perhaps death even, depending on material and consumer) from non compliance.

Absolutely. And Amazon should also pay for it!
Post reply on HN