With the assistance of Europol, the analysis was carried out at a European Union laboratory. The sampling was conducted by taking one sample from each consignment, from a number of different sellers in China.

Chemical analysis showed that it was impossible to confirm that a large proportion of the samples contained the active pharmaceutical ingredients they were claimed to contain. The samples were also found to contain significant levels of impurities, which is common when products are manufactured under poor conditions.

The use of such products can cause a range of health problems, particularly when substances are injected past the body's first lines of defence.