Plain packaged supplements purchased online may not include necessary safety warnings or dose recommendations. Credit:Alamy His father Nigel Foote told the Herald it was "very encouraging to hear of the immediate response from the government" and that his family was grateful to the ministers. In a viral Facebook post on Sunday, Mr Foote wrote it was "scandalous that this product has not been banned in Australia". Caffeine powder supplements are illegal to sell in Australia if they make therapeutic claims, but are not illegal for personal use and can be legally imported into the country. The FSANZ code allows sports supplements to contain substances such as caffeine that are otherwise restricted in foods, so long as they state the recommended daily consumption.

It restricts how much caffeine can be added to cola-type drinks and requires all foods that contain added caffeine to include a statement on the label. "This standard is currently under review," FSANZ said in a statement. "Caffeine in such sports foods will be one of the areas addressed in the review." Experts call for regulation of 'out of control' supplement industry Spokesperson for the Dietitians Association of Australia and accredited dietician Jane Freeman said caffeine is the most widely used performance-enhancing aid in sport, but that Mr Foote's case was a "really loud warning bell" about buying supplements online. A safe dose of the pure caffeine powder that killed Mr Foote would be close to "a sixteenth of a teaspoon", she said

Loading "There's just not a utensil you can measure that with," she said. "Ideally they should be banned - there's no place for that sort of product anywhere in sport. There should be some regulation around labelling and warnings about the dangers of the doses." Clinical exercise physiologist Dr Bill Sukala claimed Australians are becoming human "guinea pigs" for fly-by-night online supplement companies and that the industry requires better oversight. "The supplement industry not just in Australia but around the world is out of control, it is a bunch of cowboys and people need to be very careful," Dr Sukala said. He said there is often no way to tell that what is on the label is actually in the product when buying supplements online with reported cases of adulterated products causing liver damage and heart problems.