There are still consumers who fall into the pit of ＂elixir of youth＂ and only buy back 2 bottles of sugar for 3,000 yuan.
By the end of 2020, various brands and models of NMN products were all the rage, and many people believed in the guise of "elixir of life" and "gene medicine". On December 17, 2020, this newspaper uncovered NMN (nicotinamide single nucleic acid) and reminded consumers not to be credulous. Entity supermarkets and e-commerce platforms have also increased the management of such products, but there are still consumers frequently recruited. Recently, this newspaper received a complaint from the public, saying that the NMN products bought at a high price were actually several bottles of "sugar".
Some NMN product names are marked with "drugs".
consumer
Buy it back at a high price and find it fooled
Recently, Mr. Zhang, who lives in Hebei, told this newspaper that he was very excited to learn from his friends that a certain NMN product can delay aging and prolong life, but he was cheated when he bought it.
Mr. Zhang introduced that he called the order number on the brochure. "After the call was connected, the customer service immediately asked me where I got the information. I told him that my friend was a member here. The customer service asked the member’s real name and phone number in detail. After verification, let me add him to WeChat before telling me where to buy."
The customer service told Mr. Zhang that his address was located in Haidian District, Beijing. While coming to Beijing for business, Mr. Zhang found the address and bought two bottles of "elixir of youth" with model NMN12000. "I can’t get the medicine on the spot. I just looked at the sample and introduction. After paying and registering as a member, the company will send the goods from Guangzhou by express delivery."
After receiving the "elixir of Youth", Mr. Zhang found that the word NMN could not be found on the invoice, only "candy food, fruit-flavored pressed candy" was written, and the seller on the invoice was an information technology company. Mr. Zhang is puzzled: How did NMN become sugar? He didn’t feel cheated.
In fact, the NMN12000 purchased by Mr. Zhang at a high price is really not a health care product, let alone a medicine. As early as December 17, 2020, this newspaper reported that the efficacy of this kind of NMN products was not supported by clinical data, and it can only be regarded as a dietary supplement at present. Many professionals reminded that eating this kind of products is equivalent to eating more vegetables and fruits, so consumers should not be credulous.
On January 14th, 2021, the Food Management Department of the State Administration of Market Supervision issued the Letter on Investigating the Illegal Operation of "Young Drugs", saying that NMN has not obtained the license of drugs, health foods, food additives and new food raw materials in China, that is, NMN cannot be produced and operated as food in China, and the letter also requires a comprehensive investigation of relevant operators.
The reporter followed the trail and found that after the investigation by the relevant departments, some NMN products were still falsely publicized in the market and sold at high prices.
Experience pavilion
Sales are hidden. Selling invoices according to health care products but writing sugar.
At the end of April, according to the address provided by Mr. Zhang, the reporter went to the NMN product sales point for an unannounced visit. When the reporter came to the building according to mobile navigation, he found it was a shopping mall. According to the information provided by Mr. Zhang, the sales point is on the eighth floor, but when the reporter took the elevator in the mall, he found that the elevator could only reach the fifth floor. Subsequently, the reporter went around to the back of the shopping mall to find other entrances, only to find that the front of this building is a shopping mall and the back is an office building. The office building is divided into east hall and west hall, but no matter which side you take the elevator, you can only reach the seventh floor. Finally, under the guidance of the security guards in the building, the reporter found a small door in the middle of the office building, from which he entered and took the elevator to the eighth floor.
When I came to the 8th floor, the reporter saw that all the small rooms were tightly closed, and there were no people walking around in the corridor. It was very quiet. The reporter looked around, and there were no marks on the doors of other rooms on this floor, only one door was hung with the brand of "XXX Experience Hall".
After ringing the doorbell, a lady opened the door. From the door, the room is only about 50 square meters, except for a table, a cupboard and some chairs. The reporter asked if NMN products could be purchased here. The lady was very cautious and repeatedly asked the reporter which member she heard from. When the reporter said that she couldn’t remember her name, the lady said that NMN related products were not available at present. "We only sell to members. Now I don’t have any goods here. You can call to order again in a few days, or ask members you know to call for advice." Subsequently, the reporter also encountered the same situation when calling the order phone.
In the experience hall, the lady clearly told the reporter that NMN products are health care products, 1,500 yuan for one bottle and 6,500 yuan for five bottles, each bottle can be taken for about 20 days, and suggested that it can be taken for a long time if conditions permit.
It is this company that claims NMN products as health care products, but the invoice issued to Mr. Zhang says "pressed candy". Mr. Zhang immediately contacted the company’s customer service after discovering the problem, hoping to reopen the invoice, but the customer service said that the invoice could only be issued according to this.
online store
Branding "health care products" and labeling "non-food health care words"
Compared with the caution of physical sales points, e-commerce sales of NMN products are more daring. The reporter searched on three e-commerce platforms and found a large number of NMN products for sale. In addition to various brands, there are different models such as NMN12000, NMN9600 and NMN1000, which can be described as varied. During the investigation, the reporter found that most e-commerce companies indicated the words "imported" and "food supplements", and some e-commerce companies still used the words "gene drugs", "anti-aging pills" and "anti-aging health products" for publicity.
The Letter on Investigating the Illegal Operation of "Young Drugs" clearly indicates that China has not approved NMN as a license for drugs, health foods, food additives and new food raw materials. So why are there so many NMN products for sale? Mainly because it is listed in the "positive list" of cross-border purchase as a derivative of vitamin B family. In 2016, the Announcement on Publishing the List of Retail Imports in cross-border electronic commerce, commonly known as the "Positive List", jointly drafted by eleven ministries and commissions, was officially released, including "unmixed vitamins and derivatives" and other commodities.
That is to say, although this kind of goods can be imported on the "positive list", they can’t be produced and operated as food in China, and they can’t be labeled as "drugs" and "health products".
The reporter found that there are still some e-commerce companies that directly mark their products as "health food (food health word)". The reporter contacted his customer service, who also called the product a health care product. In addition, on an e-commerce platform, the reporter screened according to "domestic" and still found more than 40 NMN products, but the products were marked as imported; According to the "blue hat logo" (food health word) screening, you can also find out related products.
More e-commerce companies play word games. Although searching for "elixir of youth" and "longevity medicine" can’t find out related products, searching for "gene medicine" has a large number of NMN products. On the one hand, the seller advertises the product as a "health care product" in the name of the product, but on the other hand, it indicates the product as a "non-food health word" in an inconspicuous position in the product details; While promoting that the product is "gene medicine" and "anti-aging pill", it is quietly marked that the product is not a medicine. Intern reporter Lu Yijia
■ Authoritative interpretation
Using "elixir of youth" to induce consumption and invoice "candy" to avoid responsibility
Lawyer Liu Ning of Beijing Yixing Law Firm said that whether the physical store promotes health care products with "candy" as the invoice or the online store promotes "medicine" and "health care products" with the word "non-food health care", such contradictory practices are the routine of merchants, which can induce consumers through false propaganda and evade their responsibilities, and consumers often have no way to complain, so consumers are advised to keep their eyes open and buy carefully.
Market supervision still needs to be exerted.
On January 14th, 2021, the Food Management Department of the State Administration of Market Supervision issued the Letter on Investigating the Illegal Operation of "Young Drugs", which indicated that the main component of "Young Drugs" was nicotinamide single nucleic acid (NMN) or was produced from it, and some of them existed in the form of common foods such as tabletted candy, mainly promoting the functions of "anti-aging, repairing DNA and preventing senile dementia". At present, NMN has not obtained the license of drugs, health foods, food additives and new food raw materials in China, that is, NMN cannot be produced and operated as food in China, and the letter also requires a comprehensive investigation of relevant operators.
The reporter consulted the Beijing Drug Administration and the Beijing Municipal Market Supervision Administration successively, but failed to get a clear reply on the regulatory issues. The insiders believe that in view of the problem of "elixir" using cross-border e-commerce related policies to avoid supervision, on the one hand, the regulatory authorities should change from traditional supervision methods to network supervision and effective supervision according to the characteristics of e-commerce platforms; On the other hand, the e-commerce platform should take the regulatory responsibility for related products, especially to strengthen advertising and review of quality and safety to protect consumers’ rights and interests.
■ Related links
Exaggerate propaganda and don’t be credulous.
Routine anti-aging health care product and imported gene drug NMN is the abbreviation of nicotinamide single nucleic acid, which is only a substance with potential value to delay aging. Related drugs and health care products have not been officially approved by China’s regulatory authorities, and even in the United States and Japan, they are only classified as a dietary supplement.
The routine returns from 60 years old to 20 years old. Some merchants of "Anti-aging Pills" mainly focus on their products against aging, saying that "the age is 30+, and the face is only 18". "The muscle vitality of 2-year-old mice has returned to the level of 6 months, which is equivalent to the 60-year-old people returning to 20 years old." However, it is understood that the published research results on the effectiveness of NMN are still at the level of animal experiments, and there is no clinical data to show that these effects are also produced in humans. Therefore, it is premature to directly publicize its anti-aging effect and there is no scientific basis.
Routine has been certified by both China and the United States. Many businesses flaunt their NMN products and get GRAS certification from the United States. It is worth noting that, regardless of the authenticity of the product certification, GRAS is the safety index of food additives evaluated by the US Food and Drug Administration, while the so-called authoritative certification of China is only the inspection and quarantine report of China Customs, which is not the certification of product efficacy. (Comprehensive arrangement of related reports)