The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) has issued an advisory, cautioning both consumers and those in the food industry about the appearance of unapproved, potentially dangerous ingredients in certain food products. According to a recent statement, rising concerns have been noted regarding the inclusion of psychoactive or psychotropic substances - ingredients which have not been given the green light by regulatory agencies and could mess with everything from your mood to how you think.
In the alert released by MDARD, they emphasize, "Psychoactive or psychotropic substances, when added to foods or dietary supplements and consumed, can affect mental processes like perception, consciousness, cognition or mood and emotions and are not legal to use as food ingredients," as reported by Michigan.gov. Among the food products believed to be laced with these dicey ingredients, we're talking shrooms of the psychotropic variety, cannabis concoctions, rogue forms of kava, kratom, and others that haven't been vetted properly for safety.
With these kinds of unapproved items, MDARD warns consumers could be exposed to some not-so-pleasant side effects. We're talking liver toxicity, the risk of seizures, not to mention the jacked-up blood pressure and heart rates, or reduced motor skills, and even hallucinations. Michigan Food Law and the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (Sec 402(f)(1)(B)) don't mince words either: if your food contains this stuff, it's considered contaminated, period.
The department has further clarified that these psychotropic additives not only create products that are illegal to sell or produce in Michigan, but they also can't legally cross state lines. Despite being trendy of late, any of these ingredients that are attempting to be included into foods must be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) before anyone's consuming them, MDARD underscored. The legality is a straight no-go zone - no manufacturing, no selling, no having food products that are rolling with other psychoactive or psychotropic food additives in Michigan.
If you're itching for more details or how to stay on the straight and narrow with what you eat, reach out to the MDARD Human Food Division at [email protected], and they'll fill you in. For everyone's safety, they're asking to keep an eye on those food labels and ensure you're not unintentionally diving into possibly harmful ingredients without the green light from regulatory bodies.
