A Notts company has been handed a fine after making false claims about potentially dangerous diet pills it sold online.
Suede Apple Ltd, based in Retford, failed to disclose the diet pills contained a potentially deadly allergen called crustacea.
The owner of the company, Nicola Brownson-Smith, 44, has been fined by magistrates following a Nottinghamshire County Council trading standards investigation.
She admitted four charges relating to false advertising on its packaging and website and placing an unsafe product on the market by failing to declare some of the pills contained the allergen.
She was fined £660 and ordered to pay £500 costs at a hearing at Mansfield Magistrates Court on December 14.
The charges related to two products - Fat Blocker and Inner Cleanse, which the council's trading standards officers test purchased from the company's website, following a tip-off from officers in another part of the country.
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Labelling on the Fat Blocker pills made unauthorised health claims, saying "blocks absorption of fat and cholesterol", "sugar destroyer", "fight the fat" and "decreases absorption of sugar".
The Inner Cleanse packaging falsely claimed taking the pills "relieves fluid retention", "reduces cholesterol", "cleanses the bowel" and "detoxes and nourishes the digestive system".
The Foods Standards Agency asked the company to issue a product recall in relation to the Fat Blocker pills, after they were found to contain the allergen, crustacea - which could put consumers at risk of potentially deadly anaphylaxis.
Nicola Schofield, trading standards team manager at the council, said: "Because of the presence of crustacea in these pills, which is not declared on the label, it is really important that anyone who still has them does not consume them.
"Instead they should return them to where they brought them at the earliest opportunity. Trading Standards officers are continuing to monitor selling sites and will take steps to get both products removed from sale, if and when they appear."
What is Crustacea?
Crustaceans includes crab, lobster, prawn, shrimp, langoustine and crayfish. Marine crustaceans and molluscs are often collectively referred to as ‘shellfish’.
An allergy to crustaceans can be severe with a risk of anaphylaxis - a severe and potentially life-threatening reaction.
Councillor John Handley, vice-chairman of communities and place committee at the council, added: "We hope this conviction sends out a clear message about the potential dangers of incorrect labelling and the responsibility businesses must have in ensuring the way they describe their products is accurate.
"Products like these prey on the insecurities of people who are desperate to lose weight by making all kinds of unsubstantiated claims and it is only right that the people behind the claims are called out and punished for the deliberately misleading people.
"I commend the trading standards team for their persistence in securing this prosecution."
Anyone who thinks they have the pills is being urged not to consume them and return them to where they bought them.
The company's websites, where the products were being sold, are also no longer operational.
