FDA Issues First Ever Mandatory Recall Order for Kratom Products

On April 2, 2018, FDA issued a mandatory recall order for all products containing powdered kratom manufactured, processed, packed, or held by Triangle Pharmanaturals LLC, after several tested positive for salmonella. FDA issued the recall after the company failed to cooperate with FDA’s request to conduct a voluntary recall. This is FDA’s first ever mandatory recall.

Under the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), FDA has the authority to order the recall of certain food products when FDA determines that there is a reasonable probability that the article of food is adulterated or in violation of certain allergen labeling requirements and that the use of or exposure to such article will cause serious adverse health consequences or death to humans or animals.

Mitragyna speciosa, commonly known as kratom, is a plant that grows naturally in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea. Kratom has opioid properties and stimulant-like effects, and has been marketed in the U.S. to treat muscle pain, diarrhea, and opiate withdrawal. Out of concern for the public health, FDA advises consumers to avoid kratom or its psychoactive compounds, mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine, in any form and from any manufacturer. The agency also has received concerning reports about the safety of kratom, including deaths associated with its use.

Numerous brands of kratom-containing products have been linked to a multi-state outbreak of salmonellosis from multiple strains of salmonella. The FDA continues to advise consumers to avoid kratom and kratom-containing products and discard any in their possession. All salmonella bacteria can cause the foodborne illness salmonellosis, although the strains found related to this recall are not currently linked to the outbreak.