Rhubb Rab (Rhubarb) general food products claiming to alleviate menopausal symptoms have gained popularity, yet most products on the market in Korea have been found to be unrelated to actual menopause improvement effects.
On the 13th, the Korea Consumer Agency announced that after assessing the quality and safety of 10 commercially available rhubarb general foods, they discovered that key functional ingredients critical to alleviating menopausal symptoms were either significantly below standards or not detected at all in all products.
The investigation included the following products: ▷ 100-Year Food Rhubarb Extract Powder (BSF Korea) ▷ Dr. Vitu All-in-One Red Rhubarb Balance Care (G Planet) ▷ Wellness Storage Rhubarb Chicory Root Extract Tablet (Mi-sum Store) ▷ Murdi Phaetolon Red Formula (Murdi) ▷ Tarsaeo Rhubarb Max (Health Convenience Store) ▷ Salm Shi Premium Rhubarb Baeksuo Chicory Pomegranate Tablet (DW Retail) ▷ Lab-on-Lab Rhubarb Chicory Root Baeksuo Tablet (Lab-on-Lab) ▷ Beauty Secret (Byeol Health) ▷ Eight Circle Premium Rhubarb Baeksuo Chicory Pomegranate Tablet (Eight Circle) ▷ Well Lit Rhubarb Extract All-in-One Tablet (Native Village).
Rhubarb, also referred to as “Daehwang,” is a medicinal plant known for rhaponticin in its roots, which is believed to aid in alleviating menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes and depression. For rhubarb health functional foods to be recognized by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, they must contain at least 2.52mg of rhaponticin per daily intake.
However, the Consumer Agency found that none of the 10 products used the ‘rhubarb root extract’ recognized as a functional ingredient. Despite labels indicating rhubarb extract content ranging from 33.61% to 80%, the actual ingredients used did not qualify as health functional food materials.
A further analysis of the rhaponticin content revealed that either it was not detected or it was below 0.03mg per daily intake in all products, which is merely about 1% of the recognized functional standard (2.52mg).
Additionally, it was discovered that 8 out of the 10 products engaged in misleading advertising by emphasizing unproven benefits such as “menopausal supplement” or “cholesterol level control.” Current laws prohibit general foods from being mistakenly believed to be health functional foods through misleading labeling or advertising.
Following the investigation, the Consumer Agency recommended that the relevant businesses delete or correct these misleading ads. As a result, six businesses, including ▷ BSF Korea ▷ G Planet ▷ Mi-sum Store ▷ Lab-on-Lab ▷ Eight Circle ▷ Native Village, agreed to halt sales, while Murdi agreed to amend detailed page displays. Conversely, Health Convenience Store, DW Retail, and Byeol Health did not respond.
The Consumer Agency plans to request the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety to scrutinize rhubarb general foods that could be mistaken for health functional products. Consumers are advised to carefully check labeling for raw materials and functional food certification marks when purchasing products for alleviating menopausal symptoms.