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Health Canada Health products

"Novodalin B17/amygdalin" being sold online poses serious risk to health

Issued February 23, 2016
Issue
Healh Canada is advising Canadians who purchased Novodalin B17, an unauthorized natural health product claiming to treat cancer to stop using the product and contact their doctor for appropriate follow-up. No health products containing B17 or amygdalin have been authorized by Health Canada to treat cancer or any other condition. Health Canada does not permit cancer treatment claims for natural health products. Decisions on cancer treatment should be made with your doctor. Novodalin B17 being sold online by cdnf.com also poses serious risks to health as it is labelled to contain apricot kernel extract. Apricot kernels may contain amygdalin, a compound derived from bitter apricot kernels that has the potential to release cyanide when ingested by humans. The concentration of amygdalin is unknown at this time, however, ingesting low to moderate amounts of cyanide may lead to serious adverse health consequences and high doses may be lethal.
Hazard description
Unauthorized product
What to do
Consult with your doctor if you have used this product and have health concerns. Read the product label to verify that health products have been authorized for sale by Health Canada have an eight-digit DIN, a DIN-HM or a NPN. Verify if products that have been authorized for sale by searching the Drug Product Database and the Licensed Natural Health Product Database . Report any adverse events to Health Canada . Report complaints about health products to Health Canada by calling toll-free to 1-800-267-9675, or complete an online complaint form .