Holland & Barrett staff in ‘false’ weight-loss pill claims
HOLLAND and Barrett staff are misleading customers with false claims about weight-loss pills, an investigation has found.
Sales assistants in five branches of the health food chain suggested supplements to undercover reporters which can be ‘dangerous’ to take.
Holland and Barrett is the UK’s biggest health food retailer, making over £150million in profit last year. according to the shop’s website, ‘staff undergo a training course with Holland and Barrett’s own training academy – boasting a nationally recognised QCF [Qualifications and Credit Framework] qualification’.
a Channel 4 Supershoppers probe saw undercover reporters go into five shops to ask if staff could recommend anything for weight loss. all five assistants chose products containing chromium – with staff telling reporters it will ‘stop you craving sugar’. One said: ‘If you have a particular craving for sugar, chromium is the one that when you take it that it will stop you craving sugar. So if you know you’re addicted to like chocolate, cakes, teas and coffees, then by taking that it actually stops you from craving the actual sugar.’
a 2016 study by the University of Sydney claimed that the chromium in health supplements can oxidise, potentially causing cancer. The NHS recommends 25mcg of chromium a day and warns that too much can be harmful.
Four sales assistants also recommended raspberry ketones with promises that they will help you sweat and curb sugar cravings.
Staff also recommended XLS medical fat binder, claiming it ‘emulsifies the fat and moves it to different places and try and sort of emulsify it to other places rather than the stomach.’ But dietician Lucy Jones told the programme, which airs at 8pm today, that the claims are ‘not supported by the currently available evidence base’ – and did not believe staff had been given adequate training.
She said: ‘no claim should be made, whether that’s from a person, on packaging or by a store, if that claim has not been approved. We shouldn’t be making claims that aren’t factually true.’
miss Jones said: ‘There is an almost complete lack of evidence around raspberry ketones in humans. most of it done to date is done in test tubes, in rats; we are not at a point where anybody should be recommending raspberry ketones for weight management. I’m not aware of any food you can ingest that would emulsify the fat on your body.’
Holland and Barrett told the programme: ‘We take customer advice very seriously, which is why we are the only retailer on the high street to train our store associates up to advanced level standard in nutrition with a Governmentaccredited, nationally recognised qualification.’ It said its products were ‘subject to strict manufacturing regulations and marketing standards to ensure they are safe to be sold to the public’.
It added: ‘We will review the findings and where appropriate, we will ensure specific training refreshers are included in the area of weight management.’