Product Safety Warning
Inverclyde Council’s environmental health service is calling on residents to avoid consuming MMS or miracle mineral solutions or similar products.
The call comes after the national Food Standards Agency issued a warning that the product - or similar products traded under different names - typically consists of a solution containing the chemical sodium chlorite.
This is used as a bleaching agent in high concentrations and is not suitable for human consumption.
Environment Convener Councillor Michael McCormick said: “The food standards agency and our own environmental health officers are keen to get the message out to consumers to avoid taking this product. If you have bought it get in touch right away with any information on its sale or distribution.
“It is not suitable for human consumption and can cause a very real danger to your health. I would urge Inverclyde residents to be on the lookout and to make sure you let us know if you come across it.”
The Food Standards Agency has issued a warning that sets out the danger posed by this product.
Sodium chlorite products vary in concentration, dosage and can be consumed in a variety of ways. Products may cause gastrointestinal irritation, severe nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea, potentially leading to dehydration and reduced blood pressure and damage to the gut and red blood cells potentially resulting in respiratory failure.
Sodium chlorite is not authorised as a food additive. If it is marketed for human consumption the product may be unsafe under food safety legislation and food business operators are legally required to remove unsafe food from the market.
The Scottish Food Crime and Incidents Unit is appealing to anyone with any information on the sale or distribution of MMS to contact either your local council environmental health team the Scottish food crime hotline on 0800 0287926.
Alleged therapeutic benefits of MMS:
There are a range of alleged health benefits related to these products and all are unlikely to be authorised. Health claims are required to be authorised and must not be ‘false, ambiguous or misleading’.
The product has been marketed as being a treatment for cancer, and therefore may also be in contravention of the Cancer Act. Claims range from generic statements about ‘purifying’ the body to more specific ones around cancer and autistic spectrum disorders.