Bulgarian Marshmallow Root Adulterated
with Belladonna Root
The 2013
report Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) of the European Commission
listed one case of botanical adulteration from January 23, 2013, in which
marshmallow (Althaea officinalis, Malvaceae) root tea was adulterated with a toxic herbal material, affecting
three people who required hospitalization. The adulterated marshmallow
originated in Bulgaria, and was distributed via Germany to Australia, Belgium,
Canada, France, the Netherlands, and South Africa. A request for additional
information was answered by Jan Baele, Head of Sector at Consumer Health
(SANCO) – RASFF. He explained that the Dutch authorities found extremely high levels of
the tropane alkaloid atropine (the estimated content in the product was 0.5%)
in the marshmallow sample. The Dutch authorities confirmed that the herbal
preparation was accidentally made on the basis of belladonna (Atropa belladonna, Solanaceae) root instead of marshmallow root.1
Bulgaria reported that the proper quality control measures had been carried out
by the producer of the marshmallow root.
Comment:
This is the only case of adulteration of a botanical supplement in the 2013
RASFF report, which suggests that incidences of adulteration are relatively
infrequent in Europe, or, possibly, that such cases are not reported to the
European Commission. According to the report, the most common problem with
dietary supplements (referred to as ‘food supplements’ in the EU) in 2013 was
the unauthorized placing of products on the market (for example, products
containing tribulus [Tribulus terrestris,
Zygophyllaceae] are not authorized for sale in Denmark). Other citations were
in regard to the marketing of unauthorized novel food ingredients (most
commonly the mushroom Trametes versicolor syn.
Coriolus versicolor [Polyporaceae] for
which safety and efficacy data are lacking) or products containing unauthorized
substances (e.g., synephrine, sildenafil and its analogues, phenolphthalein and
1,3-dimethylamylamine [DMAA]).
Reference
1. De Nijs M, Gerssen A,
van der Fels-Klerx I, van Egmond H, Marvin H, Mol H. Natural toxins - a continuous concern. Third
European Food Manufacturing & Safety Summit; February 12, 2013; Noordwijk, the
Netherlands. Available at: http://edepot.wur.nl/280219. Accessed October 29, 2014.
For more information: http://ec.europa.eu/food/safety/rasff/docs/rasff_annual_report_2013.pdf
