A “wellness empire” built by an influencer and author has been fined thousands of dollars for failing to meet legislative requirements.
On Thursday, the Therapeutic Goods Administration, part of the Department of Health and Aged Care, revealed JSHealth Vitamins Pty Ltd had copped a $13,320 fine after it allegedly failed to comply with “legal requirements.”
JSHealth was founded by influencer and multi-millionaire Jessica Sepel, and sells wellness products such as skin and hair supplements and protein powders.
The TGA said the company had breached the Therapeutic Goods Act by failing to name an ingredient on one of its products, namely the Detox + Debloat formula.
The ingredient, Foeniculum vulgare, is extracted from fennel and is not recommended for children under the age of 12, pregnant woman or breastfeeding women.
The product has since been recalled, and the company apologised for the mistake last year, but that did not stop an infringement notice being handed to the company.
The TGA said the JSHealth product did not include “the required warning statements advising of this.”
“Nor did JSHealth Vitamins Pty Ltd have consent to supply the medicine without these warning statements on the label.”
The product affected was the Detox + Debloat formula. Picture: JSHealth
In November, JSHealth Vitamins shared a message on its Instagram page, claiming it had updated the label on its Detox + Debloat product bottles.
“Your health, safety, and wellbeing are our absolute priority and at the heart of everything we do,” the post read.
“We updated the label on our Detox + Debloat formula bottles to include additional warnings in line with TGA guidelines.
“All bottles purchased online from JSHealth from late August (last) year contain the correct labels and all product information on our website includes the correct warning labels.
“In consultation with the TGA, and out of an abundance of caution, we are undertaking a recall on any bottle of Detox + Debloat that still feature the old label.”
“This is solely a labelling matter. Our ingredients are not affected and our famous formulation remains unchanged.
The company said it was taking the matter seriously and was “deeply sorry” for inconvenience caused.
The fine comes after controversial actions by the brand, which had received an even bigger fine in September last year.
The company has since recalled the mislabeled batch and apologised. Picture: JSHealth
The company’s founder, Jessica Sepel.
On September 22, it was revealed JSHealth had received a similar warning after it was allegedly found to be advertising that products could prevent “serious health conditions” like Alzheimer’s disease and cancer.
The company was issued for unlawful use of restricted and prohibited representation in advertising, and was made to pay $26,640.
JSHealth products are currently available in Chemist Warehouse stores across Australia, with some newer products now available at Woolworths.
Anyone who might be worried about their Detox + Debloat products can head here to learn more.
JSHealth Vitamins has been contacted for further comment.