What does coffee contain when weight-loss products are adulterated?

A CCTV investigation found that some weight-loss coffees sold online contained sibutramine, a substance banned in China since 2010. A consumer who drank one product developed thirst, dry mouth, nausea, vomiting, and palpitations, then reported it to police. Testing confirmed the banned ingredient, and police dismantled a cross-provincial production and sales network.

Sibutramine acts on the central nervous system and has been linked to serious harm. The case illustrates that products marketed as ordinary coffee can carry undisclosed pharmaceutical ingredients, so labels and sourcing matter. Experts warn that long-term use of such products does not produce healthy weight loss, and consumers should know what does coffee contain before buying.

In recent years, weight-loss coffees touting effortless slimming have proliferated on the market, attracting a large number of consumers hoping to shed pounds quickly. However, a recent investigative report by CCTV has exposed the worrying truth behind such products: some weight-loss coffees contain illegally added pharmaceutical ingredients that were banned in China long ago. Long-term consumption not only fails to deliver healthy weight loss but may also cause serious harm to the body. This article will sort through the ins and outs of the incident, including consumers' personal experiences, the detailed process of the police's cross-provincial investigation, and experts' professional warnings about such products, aiming to help coffee lovers recognize the real risks of weight-loss coffee and make wiser consumer choices.

▲

Click to follow | Daily specialty coffee culture magazine Coffee Workshop

Today, as more and more consumers pursue a healthy physique and a beautiful appearance, a large number of weight-loss coffees claiming to offer "painless weight loss" have emerged on the market, and such products quickly caught the attention of many people trying to lose weight. But not long ago, a CCTV report pointed out that long-term consumption of weight-loss coffees sold online not only makes it hard to achieve the expected results, but may also produce the opposite effect.

According to the report, a consumer who usually had no time to exercise and wanted to lose weight bought a box from an online store to try after seeing advertisements for weight-loss coffee. During the period she drank it, the person gradually developed discomforts such as thirst, dry mouth, nausea, vomiting, and palpitations. Because her body kept sending warning signals, she went to the hospital for an examination, and the doctor told her that the weight-loss coffee she had been drinking might contain banned ingredients.

Realizing the seriousness of the matter, the consumer immediately reported it to the local police. After accepting the case, the police sent the weight-loss coffee provided by the person to a third-party professional institution for testing. The test results showed that the product had been adulterated with sibutramine—a toxic and harmful substance that the state explicitly banned from sale as early as 2010. It is reported that sibutramine is a central nervous system suppressant drug, and its potential harm to the cardiovascular and cerebrovascular systems is extremely serious.

Using the online shopping order provided by the victim, the investigating police noticed the shipping address shown on the order and then located a courier distribution point in a residential compound in Lanzhou. By comparing the parcel sending and receiving records, the police quickly identified the suspect and seized a large amount of weight-loss coffee in the two residences he rented.

After testing, all 18 types of weight-loss coffee stockpiled at the suspect's residence contained sibutramine. Along with these toxic coffees, two sealing machines used to package the products and a large number of packaging cartons were also seized. However, according to the suspect's account, he was only a warehouse keeper whose daily work was to package coffee and send parcels to the addresses given by the online store owner, and he claimed to know nothing about the source of the toxic coffee.

After comprehensively analyzing information on multiple online stores provided by the suspect, the police identified 22 stores suspected of selling toxic coffee, but the registration information for these online stores all used other people's identities fraudulently. Therefore, the police shifted the focus of the investigation to order data and the flow of funds in the online stores, ultimately uncovering a criminal gang that produced and sold toxic and harmful food across the country.

According to the police briefing, the operation resulted in the arrest of 33 criminal suspects involved in producing and selling toxic and harmful coffee, as well as 3 main suspects responsible for directing production and remotely controlling transactions; 22 online stores selling toxic and harmful coffee were shut down, 6 criminal dens for production and sales were destroyed, 3 warehouses used for storage and transshipment were sealed, more than 130,000 bags of unsold coffee were seized, and involved funds totaling more than 15 million yuan were identified.

In fact, this is not the first time "weight-loss coffee" has been exposed for violating laws and regulations. But during the investigation, police noticed that some dieters eager for quick results still chose to place orders and take the risk even when they clearly knew the coffee might contain harmful sibutramine.

Experts remind people on this issue that there are no shortcuts to losing weight. Consumers who drink weight-loss coffee containing toxic and harmful substances for short-term slimming may achieve the opposite and bring serious adverse consequences to their bodies. Experts say that people troubled by weight problems who need drug assistance should take medication scientifically under a doctor's guidance, rather than blindly trusting those so-called "slimming miracle tools" of unknown origin that claim to have miraculous effects online.

Image source: internet screenshot

Disclaimer: Some images in this article are from the internet. For some content on the website, such as images, we will respect the original author's copyright and indicate the source. However, due to the large quantity, a few images and texts may not have been credited in time. Please forgive us. If the original author has any dispute, they may contact the website for handling. Once verified, we will correct it immediately. Compiled and edited by "Coffee Workshop." Please indicate the source when reposting. If there is any infringement, please inform us for deletion. Thank you~!

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.