Nearly seven in 10 of the illegal health products were purchased online in e-commerce platforms or social media over the last 2 years.
In a report released on Feb. 19, Singapore Health Sciences Authority (HSA) said, “Majority (68%) of the illegal health products were sold through online e-commerce platforms such as Shopee and Lazada and social media channels such as Instagram and TikTok.”
The report also said that the rest of the illegal products were purchased from neighboring countries, local retail shops, local peddlers and an Ayurvedic yoga wellness centre.
“HSA had taken appropriate actions against the sellers, such as working with platform administrators to remove their listings, seizing stocks from physical retail shops, and initiating product recalls,” the report added.
There were 22 illegal health products between January 2024 and December 2025.
20 were adulterated products, one product had excessive lead content while one was a counterfeit product.
Some of the products claimed to provide relief for pain and inflammation (45%) while others claimed to help with slimming (32%), aesthetic (9%), weight gain (5%) and glucose support (5%).
The report stated that “steroids were the most common potent ingredient found in the illegal health products across all categories.”
The majority of the products that claimed to help with pain and inflammation contained steroids such as dexamethasone, prednisolone, clobetasol and betamethasone.
“A product marketed for weight gain, ‘EZ Empire Be Perfect’, was detected with steroids and cyproheptadine.”
Illegal products for aesthetic purposes were found to contain steroids, mercury, salicylic acid and triclosan, a preservative not allowed in cosmetic creams.
A product known as ‘Ayukalp Mahayograj Guggulu’ from an Ayurvedic yoga wellness centre had lead content exceeding 6,000 times the permissible limit of 10 ppm and caused lead poisoning in a consumer.
Two products were recalled for containing prescriptive-only and other substances.
One of the products recalled was ‘CuraLin advanced glucose support’ where “HSA testing revealed the presence of two prescription-only antidiabetic medicines, glibenclamide and metformin’ but was “labelled to contain traditional herbs.”
Another product recalled was ‘Pi De Kang Dermatitis Cream’ which contains clobetasol and miconazole was imported by Da Zhong Tang Pte Ltd and supplied by Chinese Medical Centre Pte Ltd.
Some of the adverse effects of ‘ Pi De Kang Dermatitis Cream’ include pain, swelling, redness, itching or burning sensation.
HSA also warned about counterfeit ‘LACTOGG’ capsules sold on Shopee e-commerce platform at significantly lower prices than the genuine products.
Tests on the counterfeit ‘LACTOGG’ capsules did not find probiotic strain Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG as listed on the packaging.
Adverse reactions on these counterfeit capsules include abdominal discomfort, vomiting, and diarrhoea when consumed.
“Healthcare professionals are essential partners in HSA’s efforts to detect potentially adulterated and counterfeit products through vigilant history-taking and reporting,” the report added.
