According to food safety officials, the inspections were conducted on July 3-4 in Ludhiana city, Khanna, Sec 32 Chandigarh Road, and Jagraon as part of wider crackdown on contaminated supplement or nutraceuticals like protein powders, mass gainers etc.

The samples collected were sent to the director, food and drugs lab, Kharar. The reports for these tests are expected to come within 15 working days by rule, according to an official speaking on anonymity. But so far, the reports haven’t returned.

The official said that there have been cases of gym goers facing very serious health conditions and it was in this backdrop that the inspections of these supplements were done. “The adulteration can be done with any substance and some of them are harmful. We need to know what goes into our body so we can decide if we need it or not. Some people can have health conditions which these contaminants can exacerbate,” said the official.

Director of food and drugs lab, Kharar, Dr Amit Kumar said, “The equipment used to test these supplements had broken down. There was a delay in sourcing the faulty part. Now it has been fixed so the tests can be conducted soon.”

Meanwhile, Dr Shiney Aggarwal, physician at Ludhiana civil hospital and SDH Khanna, advised that people should avoid supplements unless necessary.

“If you are a professional bodybuilder or a model or an actor you may take these supplements. But even then, one must be careful about the quality of the supplements as they may contain substances that are dangerous,” he said.

He noted that many people who had kidney issues saw their problem exacerbate after taking supplements.