FDA has warned consumers for years against using products containing Mitragyna speciosa, a plant from Southeast Asia that is commonly known as kratom, or its psychoactive compounds, mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine, which affect the same opioid brain receptors as morphine.  Since identifying kratom on an import alert for unapproved drugs in 2012 and on a second import alert for kratom-containing dietary supplements and bulk dietary ingredients in February 2014, FDA has taken numerous enforcement actions.

Most recently, on May 21, 2021, FDA announced the seizure of approximately $1.3 million worth of products including over 34,000 kilograms of bulk kratom and more than 207,000 units of dietary supplements containing kratom with the brand names Boosted Kratom, The Devil’s Kratom, Terra Kratom, Sembuh, Bio Botanical, and El Diablo manufactured by Atofil, LLC located in Fort Myers, Florida.

The latest activity shows that FDA remains ready to initiate enforcement action against supplements that are believed to pose safety risks.