On November 6, 2026, Health Canada published a public advisory, RA-82930, warning consumers not to use or inject unauthorized peptides after lab testing found bacteria in products sold online. The department says it seized and tested injectable products from Shanghai ERP Peptide Biotechnology Co., Ltd., which it calls ERP Peptide. In total it seized over 11,400 vials from that company and two Canadian online retailers.
What the testing found
Health Canada says it found bacteria "such as" three species, a wording that leaves room for others:
- Acinetobacter seifertii, first described from human clinical specimens
- Acinetobacter nosocomialis, from a group its describers called increasingly recognized as clinically important
- Cutibacterium acnes, a skin-associated species that the advisory also gives under its older genus name, Propionibacterium
The two Acinetobacter species belong to the Acinetobacter calcoaceticus-Acinetobacter baumannii complex.
The advisory says injecting contaminated products can cause serious infections, hospitalization and, in severe cases, life-threatening sepsis, with a higher risk for people with a compromised immune system. It tells anyone who has used these products and develops a fever, pain or swelling at the injection site, or feels unwell to seek immediate medical attention.
The advisory does not say how many vials were tested, how many contained bacteria, or which products or lots carried which species. It reports no case of illness linked to these products. The 11,400 figure counts the vials seized, and the advisory gives no contamination figure.
What Health Canada seized
The advisory lists these as examples of the products ERP Peptide sold online:
Health Canada says it identified two Canadian online retailers selling ERP Peptide products, truenorthbiolabs.ca and bcaxiompeptide.com. It obtained court-issued entry warrants and seized products from both, and it says that as a result of its compliance and enforcement action the websites are no longer active.
The department says it has asked ERP Peptide to immediately stop selling into Canada and is working with the Canada Border Services Agency to stop unauthorized shipments from entering the country.
The research-use label in Canada
In Canada, injectable peptides are generally regulated as prescription drugs, and authorized drugs carry an eight-digit Drug Identification Number on the label. The advisory says selling unauthorized drug products is illegal.
It addresses the research-use label directly. Consumers are told not to use drugs labelled "For Research Use Only – Not for Human Consumption," which it describes as intended for lab use.
What purity testing does not show
A purity result does not speak to bacteria. Sterility and endotoxin are separate tests, as our guide to reading a certificate of analysis explains. The advisory does not say whether the seized products came with certificates of analysis or what those reported.
The United States has its own recent policy statement on this subject. The October enforcement discretion policy from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) names contaminants such as endotoxins, heavy metals and microbes among the tests a certificate must show for compounded peptides, and it says the Secretary intends to discourage use of certain research-use-only peptides from foreign manufacturers. Health Canada's findings concern products seized in Canada, and the advisory does not address the US market.
Earlier Canadian advisories
Health Canada has issued peptide advisories before, including seizure notices for Prime Research in April 2025 and Canada Peptide in August 2025. A general warning in April 2026 listed microbial contamination among the possible risks. None of those three reports a lab finding of bacteria, while the November advisory does. Health Canada says it will continue seizures, testing and efforts to disrupt distribution.
Sources
- Health Canada, Health Canada warns about contaminated unauthorized injectable peptides and non-peptide drugs, RA-82930 (November 6, 2026)
- Health Canada, Think twice before injecting peptides bought online (April 9, 2026)
- Health Canada, Unauthorized injectable peptide drugs seized and sold by Canada Peptide (August 1, 2025)
- Health Canada, Unauthorized injectable peptide drugs sold by Prime Research (April 14, 2025)
- Nemec et al., Acinetobacter seifertii sp. nov., International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology (2015)
- Nemec et al., Characterization of the Acinetobacter calcoaceticus-Acinetobacter baumannii complex, Research in Microbiology (2011)
- Scholz and Kilian, The natural history of cutaneous propionibacteria, International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology (2016)