Bite-Back regards the sale of Holland & Barratt's Shark Cartilage capsules as an 'unnecessary and additional incentive for fishermen to hunt and destroy shark populations'.
Readers can send an email to Holland & Barrett's head office via Bite-Back's website.
Shark cartilage extract is marketed as being of possible benefit for ailments including arthritis, other joint problems and some cancers. Holland & Barrett's capsules are sold at ?16.99 for a hundred 650mg units.
Some experts doubt the claims. 'I don't think there is any benefit in buying shark cartilage and eating it,' John Coffey, a cancer biologist at John Hopkins University, told Bite-Back.
In America, analysis of shark cartilage products by the University of Texas' Anderson Cancer Centre has concluded that there is 'no data to support their efficacy as cancer-fighting agents'.
Meanwhile, the US Food and Drug Administration has just announced the voluntary withdrawal of one shark cartilage product brand, Sentinel, on account of possible contamination with salmonella.
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