Warning: Fake Puritan's Pride Health Supplements

Warning: Fake Puritan's Pride Health Supplements

Did you know that fake vitamins and supplements are a real thing? Crazy as it sounds, it is actually true and it is getting out of hand. To top it all off, they are prevalent on online platforms. According to Scutti (2018), nearly 800 dietary supplements sold over the counter from 2007 through 2016 contained unapproved drug ingredients. These unapproved drugs can cause severe adverse health effects such as serious blood vessel damage, mental health problems, kidney and liver damages and heart problems. We are here to warn you that fake Puritan’s Pride health supplements are out there. Counterfeit products are dangerous and harmful to your health. And if you are not careful, you may end up buying one. Instead of being healthier, you may end up damaging your health.

HOW TO KNOW IF YOU ARE BUYING AN ORIGINAL?

The easiest way to ensure that your Puritan’s Pride health supplements are authentic here in the Philippines is to buy it from our authorized stores. Our authorized stores are as follows:

Watsons Philippines

Puritan’s Pride is available in 98 Watsons stores nationwide. For more information, click here.

Lazada LazMall Flagship Store

We are available in Lazada through our official LazMall flagship store. All supplements purchased from our LazMall flagship store are guaranteed 100% authentic. Are there counterfeit and fake Puritan’s Pride supplements in Lazada? Unfortunately, yes. Please read the report of our investigation in the last section of this article.

Shopee Mall Flagship Store

We are available in Shopee through our official Shopee Mall flagship store. Are there counterfeit and fake Puritan’s Pride supplements in Shopee? Unfortunately, yes. Please read the report of our investigation in the last section of this article.

BeautyMNL

We are also available in BeautyMNL. To visit BeautyMNL, click here.

Zalora

We are available in Zalora. To visit Zalora, click here.

Puritan’s Pride Website

Of course, you can also buy your favorite Puritan’s Pride health supplements on our official website. Visit www.puritanspride.ph.

RED FLAGS OF COUNTERFEIT SUPPLEMENTS

Before we proceed with the details of our investigation, below are important red flags to remember. If you see at least 1 of the red flags, stay away. Report it to us.
  • Low Price. If the price is too good to be true, it probably is fake.
  • Suspicious Seller Profile. If the seller profile shows little to no feedback or if the seller sells other products and brands with high prevalence of counterfeits, stop and evaluate.
  • Poor Packaging. If packaging shows damages such as labels with questionable quality and poorly installed, stop and ask yourself if it is worth the risk.

INVESTIGATION ON COUNTERFEIT/FAKE COMPLAINTS BY CUSTOMERS

Since February 2019, we have received numerous reports from customers about the existence of counterfeit Puritan’s Pride health supplements. Given the danger and health hazards counterfeit health supplements pose to our customers’ health, we decided to investigate. We conducted several test buys from suspicious unauthorized sellers, both online and offline. And our investigation proved that YES, COUNTERFEITS DO EXIST. Below are highlights on what we found out. These highlights are consistent with all the reported supplements we have investigated. This item is Vitamin C 500mg, 100 caplets. If you see any of these red flags in your purchase, please report it to us immediately.

#1 CAPLET APPEARANCE IS DIFFERENT

Caplet size/thickness: Fake caplet is too thin compared to original caplet which is thicker. Caplet coating: Fake is too shiny and smooth compared to original caplet which has visible blue speckles. Caplet color (inside): When cut in half, fake caplet is white speckled which does not conform to specifications as compared to the original color of off white to beige.

#2 STICKER LABEL IS DIFFERENT

Sticker label details: Fake has a primary panel of label that is a darker shade of yellow, overall sticker color is too dark compared to the original Vitamin C-500mg bottle. Lot number and Expiry Date: Fake’s font size is different from the original Vitamin C-500mg bottle. On outer plastic seal: Fake has a low quality plastic seal that is too thin and HAS NO easy peel off line as compared to the original Vitamin C-500mg bottle which has an easy peel off line. On plastic cap: Fake’s material and finish is not comparable to the original Vitamin C-500 sample. Overall features of the fake cap are different from the original Vitamin C-500 sample. Patent pending is not present inside the fake cap.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Awareness is the first step in dealing with counterfeit products. Knowing that there are counterfeit Puritan’s Pride health supplements, do not purchase them; be cautious when buying your Puritan’s Pride health supplements and remember the red flags we shared with you! The good news is it is very easy to avoid the counterfeits. Just buy from any of our authorized stores nationwide, online or offline. Also, if you encounter a counterfeit item or seller, please report it to us. You can email us at info@puritanspride.ph. You may also report to Lazada or Shopee and ask for a refund. Report and make this world a healthier place.

Reference:

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/10/12/health/tainted-dietary-supplements-fda-study/index.html

Annex A: Other Counterfeit Puritan's Pride Supplements

Below are counterfeit Puritan's Pride supplements reported to us by customers.
  1. Fake Vitamin C-1000mg has a chalk-like finish on their capsules.
2. Fake Vitamin C-1000mg has an almost white color finish.

Annex B: Feedback from Customers on Fake Puritan's Pride

Last update: September 8, 2020 This is a developing article.