TORONTO – Health Canada is warning consumers about a product sold online called MMS, saying it has been linked to three adverse reactions in Canada – including one that was life-threatening.
The product is also known as Miracle Mineral Solution or Miracle Mineral Supplement. It contains sodium chlorite, which isn’t authorized in Canada for oral consumption by humans.
Serious problems can include poisoning, kidney failure and harm to red blood cells that reduces the ability of the blood to carry oxygen. People who consume a product containing sodium chlorite could also experience abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, Health Canada said in a statement Wednesday.
The agency asked the online distributor to remove the product from the Canadian market because it contravenes the Food and Drugs Act. The website where it was sold – http://www.themmsstore.com – has posted a notice saying that its account has been suspended.
The product has been promoted as a substance that can cleanse toxins from the human body. In Canada it is authorized for use as a germicide by veterinarians and as a disinfectant.
A man who answered the phone at the distributor’s website identified himself as Stan, but declined to provide his last name.
He said he has been in the chemical water treatment business for 30 years, and sodium chlorite is widely used around the world in a variety of ways, including as a disinfectant.
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“I can tell you that it works. I have testimonials, people call me specifically to thank me for making it available,” he said from High River, Alta., where he works from his house.
He was asked if he’d heard of anyone getting sick from using MMS in Canada since he started selling it four years ago.
“Diarrhea and upset stomach, vomiting if you take too much. Yes, that happens. As far as near death or anything extreme like that, absolutely not,” Stan responded.
“You have to go slow. It’s part of the process.”
He was reluctant to say how much he’s sold over the years. He said he was warned to stop selling the product in May 2010, “and I did for a while – then I started again.”
“In my opinion, they should be investigating the merits of this stuff. It warrants their resources to get behind it and have a look at it and see if it really works or not. Never mind this scare stuff,” he said.
As far as he knows, Stan was the only distributor selling the product in Canada, but some of his customers could be selling it too, he indicated.
“People buy from me in fairly large quantities, and they redistribute it, I’m sure,” he said.
Health Canada says anyone who used MMS should consult their health-care practitioner.
When taken as directed, the agency says that MMS provides about 200 times more sodium chlorite than the tolerable daily intake of sodium chlorite in water established by regulatory authorities.
It says adverse reactions should be reported to Health Canada.
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