NZ Muscle forced to pull some creatine products

NZ Muscle has been forced to pull some creatine products that may contain undeclared dairy, with New Zealand Food Safety advising that anyone using the powders should bin them.

“The concern with this product is that the label does not warn people who need to avoid milk because of allergies,” Food Safety deputy director-general Mike Inglis said in a statement on Friday.

Explainer: What on earth is going on with NZ Muscle?

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“If you have a milk allergy and have the product at home you can return it to the place of purchase for a refund. If that’s not possible, throw it out," Inglis says.

The affected products are sold online and by selected retailers. The following products and batches are affected by this recall:

NZ Muscle

NZ Muscle Creatine (Unflavoured) (200g) Date mark: B/B JUN27

NZ Muscle Creatine (Unflavoured) (500g) Date mark: B/B JUN27

NZ Muscle Creatine (Unflavoured) (1kg) Date mark: B/B JUN27

No Brand

No Brand Creatine Monohydrate 200g, Date mark: B/B JUN27

No Brand Creatine Monohydrate 500g, Date mark: B/B JUN27

No Brand Creatine Monohydrate 1kg, Date mark: B/B JUN27

A former NZ Muscle employee and two other people who have a supplement brand, released a 45-minute YouTube video last weekend, detailing what they claimed to be questionable practices.

Following the viral video, NZ Muscle released a statement saying an “internal review has identified labelling and packing issues across three product lines: No Brand, NZ Muscle, and Shotgun Creatine".

New Zealand Food Safety (NZFS) told RNZ they spoke with complainants on Tuesday as part of the investigation.

“Food safety officers are investigating NZ Muscle following complaints. Our focus right now is to ensure that consumers are protected and affected product is efficiently removed from the supply chain," Friday's statement read.

“As is our usual practice, we will work with the company to understand how the problem occurred and prevent its recurrence. We will also be looking at other allegations made about this business."

NZ Muscle is an online and shopfront business, established in 2006, which sells health foods and fitness supplements including protein powders, creatine and electrolytes.

The YouTube video, EXPOSING New Zealand's Biggest Supplement Brand, was the work of three friends who met through NZ Muscle. Filmmaker Jordan Federici worked at an NZ Muscle retail location for about four years, leaving around 2022. Cameron Boot and Jamie McDowell met Federici through an NZ Muscle gym that they all used.

Inglis said NZFS's investigation into other complaints about NZ Muscle made on social media are being looked into.

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