Michigan warns of rise in harmful unapproved ingredients in food products

(FOX 2) - Michigan agriculture officials are asking consumers to be on the lookout for potentially harmful, unapproved ingredients making their way into food products.

Residents should be wary of psychoactive and psychotropic substances making their way into food and dietary supplements by checking the product labels. 

Big picture view:

MDARD is advising both residents and the state's food industry about a rise in unapproved ingredients making their way into the things people eat and ingest.

Food products containing unapproved ingredients have entered the market in recent years, despite their sale not being legal in Michigan. 

The ingredients that officials are warning about range from psylocibin, which is found in psychoactive mushrooms, substances found in cannabis, as well as Kratom, which creates opioid-like properties, according to the FDA.

Any foods that contain these ingredients should be considered of poorer quality compared to the unadulterated version, MDARD said.

Dig deeper:

These substances are known to impact people in a range of ways, including their mental processes like cognition and emotion.

The side effects of ingesting psychoactive or psychotropic substances range from liver toxicity, seizures, elevated blood pressure, and hallucinations.

MDARD says the ingredients don't fit the legal criteria necessary to be listed as safe for consumption.

What they're saying:

The director of MDARD's bureau of food safety and animal health asked people to be on the lookout for any food items with labels that list the ingredients.

"Many food products claiming to contain these and similar ingredients may be inaccurately labeled and could produce unexpected or potentially harmful side effects," said Tim Slawinski.

What you can do:

Officials are asking consumers to check product labels for any of the unapproved ingredients.