Excerpted from CBC.ca, Monday, 19 August 2002.

Ephedra Maker Under Criminal Investigation In U.S.

Washington -- The U.S. Justice Department is investigating a leading marketer of ephedra for allegedly lying about the safety of its controversial dietary supplement.

Health Canada recalled all products containing ephedra in January

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration sought the criminal investigation against Metabolife as part of its probe of ephedra, which has been linked to dozens of deaths in the U.S.

FROM AUG. 2, 2002: U.S. senator calls for action on diet herb ephedra

Ephedra is a species of herbs used in weight loss products, energy boosters and as a body-building enhancer. It is also known by its Chinese name, ma huang.

Health Canada issued a warning and a recall of ephedra products at the beginning of this year.

FROM JAN. 9, 2002: Health Canada recalls ephedra products

At issue in the investigation are statements Metabolife's president Michael Ellis made in 1998 to the FDA saying his company "never received one notice from a consumer that any serious adverse health event has occurred because of the ingestion of Metabolife 356."

But court documents reveal that Metabolife did received complaints before Ellis made the statement. The documents are from private lawsuits against the company.

After the FDA said Thursday it was pursuing Metabolife criminally, the company announced it would release more than 13,000 reports from consumers about health problems linked to the company's ephedra products.

The FDA dismissed the offer as "disingenuous."

Metabolife's lawyers said 80 of the complaints mention death or serious illness and conceded that the company received some of the complaints before Ellis's statement to the FDA.

But the lawyer said Ellis did not lie because the complaints do not constitute proof of "serious adverse health events" caused by Metabolite's product.

Excerpted from CBC.ca, Monday, 19 August 2002.