Safety advisory · FDA Alerts & Advisories

Yellow Oleander and Nuez de la India Products: FDA Safety Advisory (Sep 12, 2024)

Agency action: Sep 12, 2024Record ID: fda_alerts_&-5b22b9225eeb42c5
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What happened

Original notice title

FDA Expands Warning to Consumers About Toxic Yellow Oleander Purported to be Nuez de la India in Certain Botanical Weight Loss Products

From the archived source record

FDA and Maryland Department of Health analyses have determined that certain weight loss products labeled as Nuez de la India, and potentially marketed as “botanical food,” “India Nuts for Weight Loss,” “slimming seeds,” “India seeds for weight loss,” or “diet seeds,” appear to be highly toxic yellow oleander, a poisonous plant native to Mexico and Central America. One person in the state of Maryland is known to have been hospitalized after consuming Nut Diet Max brand Nuez de la India seeds. OBC Group Corp. of Miami, FL (recalling firm) OBC Group Corp. of Miami, FL (recalling firm) OBC Group Corp. of Miami, FL (recalling firm) Todorganic, Inc. of Middleburg, FL (recalling firm) Todorganic, Inc. of Middleburg, FL (recalling firm) The FDA is advising consumers to stop using Nut Diet Max brand (seeds or capsules) or Todorganic Natural brand (seeds) products marketed as Nuez de la India, India nuts, or India seeds because they may contain yellow oleander. For other Nuez de la India, India nuts, or India seeds products, FDA urges customers to exercise caution because of the similar physical appearance between candlenut seeds (which are non-toxic) and highly toxic yellow oleander seeds. The FDA advises consumers who have taken any of these products of concern to contact their health care provider immediately. Even if these products have not been used recently, consumers should still inform their health care provider about which product they took, so that an appropriate evaluation may be conducted. Contact your healthcare provider if you or someone in your care recently ingested these products or other botanical weight loss products and have health concerns. Consumers can also contact the state poison control center . Recently, the Maryland Department of Health (MDH) began sampling and testing weight loss products labeled as Nuez de la India after one person in the state reported the consumption of a Nuez de la India product and was hospitalized. Nuez de la India is marketed as India nuts or seeds, which are generally understood to be nuts from the flowering tree Aleurites moluccanus , or commonly known as candlenut, candleberry, Indian walnut, kemiri, and varnish tree

What the official notice says to do

Check the original notice for the instructions that apply to the named product, company, and affected lots.

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Status and source details

Status recorded in the archive
Published FDA communication
Source checked
Jul 16, 2026
Record revision
2656939f1b89

This is a dated record. Its current status may have changed since the source was captured. A record applies to its stated scope; it is not a safety rating for every product from a company.

Sources, dates, and coverage →

What is affected

Product
India Nuts for Weight Loss; and not Nuez de la India
Company
Diet Max brand Nuez de la India capsules Natural Vida of Miami, FL (distributor) OBC Group Corp
Lot / identifier
The source does not specify this field.
Market / distribution
The source does not specify this field.