A dangerous compound on the market.
The Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) has issued a warning against Dinitrophenol (DNP), which has recently surged in the Dutch market. The suspicion is that DNP is being processed illegally for use by bodybuilders.
2,4-dinitrophenol (DNP), also known as Dinosan, Dnoc, Solfo Black, Nitrophen, Aldifen and Chemox, primarily gained popularly through its American marketing as a medicine for treatment in the past for obesity.
It is believed that DNP is used by bodybuilders to reduce the subcutaneous fat layer to help accentuate acquired muscle. Even at lower doses, the toxic compound has many adverse effects such as skin rash, cataract, and damage to the heart, blood vessels, and nervous system. Even 1-3 grams of DNP can be a fatal dose. The NVWA Risk Assessment Assessment Office recently issued a risk assessment about the concentration at which DNP can cause health damage.
In the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and France this year there were a number of serious hospital admissions as a result of the use of DNP.
Customs reported to the NVWA last week that it found 2,4-dinitrophenol (DNP) in parcel post from Hong Kong- specifically, 7 packages that were intended for 7 different customers. These totaled to 4 Kilograms and a few hundred capsules of DNP.
Authorities have conducted research to backtrace the packages, but these have met with little success. Research shows that DNP is primarily shipped and manufactured in concert with food products and dietary supplements. DNP containing products will often have misleading labels such as ‘lemonade powder,’ ‘chocolate powder,’ ‘melon powder’ and the like for disguise.
A number of the captured shipments also contained pills and bottles of more standard anabolic steroids. This indicates that the DNP were intended for sale and use in gyms. Sewage water research has suggested that DNP is used quite frequently by people in the Netherlands. Increased levels have been detected in sewage water from bodybuilding competitions, according to the NVWA.
DNP-containing products are rarely sold via standard web shops. The suspicion is that the primary marketing and sale of such products is conducted on the black market, which introduces it’s own host of risks. The NVWA will continue it’s investigation into the distributors and intended recipients of the seized contraband.
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