How to Report a Misleading Shilajit Claim in the UK

Which body to contact

Reporting to the ASA

The Advertising Standards Authority enforces the UK advertising codes, which require marketing to be truthful and health claims for food supplements to be authorised.^[1] You can complain online about adverts on websites, social media, search ads, influencer posts and packaging. The ASA has ruled against unauthorised health claims for supplements before, including treating “increases energy” as a specific health claim.^[6]

Reporting to Trading Standards

Trading Standards deal with traders who mislead consumers or sell goods that aren’t as described. In England, Wales and Scotland, you report through the Citizens Advice consumer service, which passes cases to Trading Standards.^[2] This is the route for counterfeit products, missing label information or unfair selling practices; see reporting a problem.

Medicinal claims

Claims that a product can prevent, treat or cure a disease are medicinal claims. Food supplements can’t make them, and doing so can bring a product under medicines law, which the MHRA regulates.^[4] Claims about treating erectile dysfunction, diabetes, cancer or anxiety are examples worth reporting.

How to make a strong report

1. Capture the claimScreenshots with the date and URL.
2. Identify the sellerBusiness name, website, platform.
3. Quote the exact wordingNot a summary.
4. Explain why it misleadsFor example, “claims to cure” or “no study cited”.
5. Keep the productIf you bought it, with the batch number.

Claims worth reporting

• Disease claims“Cures erectile dysfunction”, “fights cancer”.
• Unauthorised health claims“Boosts testosterone”, “increases energy”; see testosterone claims.
• False testing claims“Lab tested” with no report available.
• Misleading purity claims“Zero heavy metals”; see purity claims.
• Hidden sponsorshipInfluencer posts not labelled as ads.

What to expect

Regulators don’t usually update individual complainants on every case, and they prioritise based on harm and patterns. Your report still helps: repeated complaints about the same trader or claim make action more likely, and ASA rulings are published.

Reporting on platforms

Marketplaces and social media platforms have their own reporting tools for misleading listings, counterfeits and fake reviews. Use them alongside regulators, as platforms can remove listings quickly.

Influencer and social media claims

Influencers promoting shilajit must make clear when a post is an advert, and incentivised endorsements should be labelled as such.^[5] The ASA also expects the claims themselves to follow the same rules as any advert. If an influencer makes disease or unauthorised health claims, or doesn’t disclose a commercial relationship, you can report the post to the ASA and to the platform.

Why reporting matters

Each report helps regulators see patterns and decide where to act. Misleading claims can lead people to take products expecting benefits they won’t get, or to delay medical care. Reporting protects other consumers and rewards honest sellers.

Northern Ireland and Scotland

Reporting routes are broadly similar across the UK, but consumer advice services differ by nation. Citizens Advice covers England and Wales, with equivalent services in Scotland and Northern Ireland; the ASA covers advertising across the UK.

Putting it into practice

When you see a claim that seems misleading, take screenshots straight away with the date and web address, note the seller’s name and the exact wording, and decide where it fits: an advert goes to the ASA, a trader problem goes to Citizens Advice, a food safety issue goes to the FSA. It takes a few minutes and genuinely helps regulators.

If you bought the product

If you bought a product on the strength of a misleading claim, you may also have consumer rights against the seller, separate from any report. Keep receipts and screenshots, and see our guide to your consumer rights. Act promptly.

The bottom line

Misleading shilajit claims can be reported: adverts to the ASA, traders to Trading Standards via Citizens Advice, food safety to the FSA and medicinal claims to the MHRA. Capture the exact wording, identify the seller and explain why it misleads.

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