Service Exchanges Pull Hydroxycut Diet Supplement from Shelves

By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service

May 5, 2009 - A recent U.S. Food and Drug Administration warning to consumers has prompted military exchanges to remove the diet supplement Hydroxycut from store shelves, officials said today. Military exchange officials contacted today confirmed that Hydroxycut products have been withdrawn from stores. The products are used by dieters and body builders.

In a May 1 news release, the FDA warned consumers "to immediately stop using Hydroxycut products." Usage of such products, the release stated, is "associated with a number of serious liver injuries."

Officials at the Dallas -based Army and Air Force Exchange Service directed managers to remove Hydroxycut from store shelves by noon May 2, said Judd Anstey, AAFES public relations manager.

The Marine Corps Exchange Service also removed Hydroxycut products from its stores in response to the FDA warning, said Bryan Driver, a spokesman for Marine Corps Community Services, based at Quantico, Va.

Navy Exchange stores removed Hydroxycut products from shelves on May 1, said Kristine Sturkie, a public affairs specialist for Navy Exchange Service Command at Virginia Beach, Va.

Patrons of Defense Commissary Agency grocery stores needn't worry about Hydroxycut, said Ronald Kelly, chief of DeCA's public affairs directorate based at Fort Lee, Va. "We do not carry the product in our inventory," he said.

The maker of Hydroxycut, the FDA release stated, agreed to pull the diet supplement off the market. The FDA release lists a number of products subject to the consumer warning.