Ahead of the new school term, online ads for foods and drugs touting "height growth" have been rampant. The Ministery of Food and Drug Safety said on the 20th that it detected 166 posts involving related false advertising and illegal sales and requested access blocks and administrative action.
Most of the detected cases were exaggerated ads that made it seem as if foods had the function of increasing height. After the Ministery of Food and Drug Safety reviewed online posts about foods and health functional foods related to height growth, 138 improper ads were identified.
By type, the most common were 119 ads that led consumers to mistake general foods for health functional foods with phrases such as "height growth," "growing taller," and "height-boosting." They were followed by false or exaggerated ads for health functional foods claiming unapproved functionalities (8 cases), ads touting disease efficacy such as "prevents osteoporosis" (5 cases), ads dressing up foods as "height-increasing medicine" (4 cases), and cases that misled consumers with phrases like "recommended by a pharmacist" (2 cases).
Illegal distribution of drugs such as growth hormone products was also found. Twenty-eight posts selling, brokering, or giving away drugs online were detected, mostly on secondhand marketplaces, cafes, and blogs.
The Ministery of Food and Drug Safety said, "When buying foods, you must check the health functional food certification mark and the stated functionalities," and added, "Drugs must be dispensed and taken only with prescriptions and counseling from hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies, and products distributed online should never be purchased."
The Ministery of Food and Drug Safety said it will continue to monitor online false advertising and illegal acts focused on foods and drugs of high public interest to block consumer harm.