Lilly’s website continues to sell restricted teas

New Zealand influencer Sera Lilly has continued to sell teas containing senna leaf despite the herb being a pharmacy-only medicine.

Lilly’s cleanse teatox tea was pulled from her online store after an investigation by Consumer NZ into the contents of detox teas.

Senna leaf is a pharmacy-only medicine used as a herbal treatment for constipation.

But Lilly has continued to sell the product in her members-only group on Facebook, claiming she has received a grace period until late March to sell stock.

Lilly said she contacted the Ministry of Health and asked if she could sell the leftover product.

But no-one knows who allegedly gave that grace period, a Ministry of Health spokeswoman said.

‘‘The woman I spoke to [at the Ministry of Health] said that was OK just on the website and needs to be done by end of March,’’ Lilly said. She did not have any record

of the call or the name of the person she spoke to regarding the teas.

The Ministry of Health spokeswoman said the ministry had not been able to find anyone who had spoken to Lilly about an extension, though some staff were away from the office.

‘‘This tea is not being sold as a dietary supplement. As the product is being sold as a food, Medsafe has contacted MPI [Ministry for Primary Industries] about this concern,’’ she said.

A MPI spokesperson said the ministry had not given Lilly any advice relating to the ongoing sale of the tea.

‘‘In December, the Ministry for Primary Industries contacted two food businesses that were known to be selling the senna leaf teas,’’ the spokesperson said.

‘‘Both food businesses have confirmed they have removed the products from sale and disposed of remaining stock. MPI has recently received information about Sera Lilly and is currently following up about the sales of senna leaf tea by that business.’’

The spokesperson said the ministry advised all food businesses selling food, including teas, to make sure they familiarise themselves with the requirements under the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code for composition as well as any claims they made about the food. ‘‘They should also be aware that certain substances are not permitted in food,’’ the spokesperson said.

Advertisements for Lilly’s tea said it was ‘‘not a weight loss or laxative tea’’ but is ‘‘designed to cleanse your body of all the impurities and toxins’’ and has ‘‘helped thousands of people with bloating, detoxing, weight-loss, sugar cravings and more’’.

In a response to Consumer NZ provided to Stuff, Lilly said she had been surprised that the use of senna leaf in any natural health product, no matter the level of sennosides, meant the product became ‘‘pharmacy-only’’.

‘‘For the record, can I just say that we have never considered our ‘tea-tox’ a ‘laxative in disguise’ as senna leaf is by far the smallest component in our product, with each cup containing less than one-third of the daily recommended dose of sennosides,’’ Lilly said. ‘‘Obviously now that we are aware of this, we have removed the tea from sale, and we are working with a naturopath to reformulate our tea before relaunching it.’’

But dozens of people have continued to buy the tea containing senna leaf via a members-only group on Facebook through December and January and the first two weeks of February.

Lilly said she had launched a new tea without senna leaf.

Consumer NZ head of research Jessica Wilson said the rules around senna leaf had been in place for a long time.

‘‘Sennosides have been a pharmacy-only medicine for many years,’’ Wilson said.

Senna leaf can lead to liver damage, inflammation in the gut and blistering of the perineum, the Consumer NZ investigation found.

Effective regulation of herbal products and dietary supplements was long overdue, Wilson said.

‘‘Consumers should be able to have confidence that product claims are backed by sound evidence. Health claims made for many of these products risk misleading consumers about what they are buying.’’

Advertising or selling pharmacy-only medicines, such as senna, without consent can result in a fine of up to $100,000.

Effective regulation of herbal products and dietary supplements was long overdue. Jessica Wilson Consumer NZ head of research