STAFF at a health food shop in Bournemouth have removed controversial ‘cancer-fighting’ products from their shelves after they were discovered selling them illegally.

An employee at Earth Foods, based in Southbourne, was discovered selling GcMAF - an unlicensed blood product.

The controversial product - which is made from human blood - claims to tackle a number of diseases and infections including cancer.

A spokesperson for the store said all the related products have since been removed from sale following a visit from health watchdog officers of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority.

“The MHRA visited during Friday morning,” he said.

“They carried out an inspection and conducted interviews.

“They were very helpful with their guidance of which we fully intend to implement. The nature of their visit was cautionary.”

The representative also said that, with every sale, they had informed customers to discuss GcMAF with their doctor prior to taking the product.

The selling of GcMAF at the store was discovered by an undercover reporter for 5 live Investigates posing as a customer seeking the product - which is self-injected and sprayed under the tongue - on behalf of a relative suffering from cancer.

Employee Nick Greenwood told the BBC reporter about five cancer patients who had taken GcMAF with none reporting any side effects.

He said that two of them, who had late-stage cancer, had died.

A spokesperson for the MHRA said: “Medicines need to go through clinical trials to make sure they are safe, to make sure that the quality of the medicines is assured, that the supply, storage and distribution is done properly.

“We can have no assurance this is happening in this case.

“This is an injectable blood product, the source of which we have no knowledge and clearly we take this issue very seriously.

“We advise members of the public not to buy unlicensed medicines from unregulated sources and have recently launched a campaign to help people purchase medicines safely.

“Read our eight top tips for buying medicines and devices safely online.

“If you have any questions about your health in the first instance you should seek the advice of a healthcare professional.”

Dr Áine McCarthy, senior science communication officer at Cancer Research UK, said: “It is really concerning that GcMaf is being sold to patients as a ‘miracle cure’ for cancer and other diseases under false pretences.

“It is not a licensed drug meaning it might not be safe for people to take, and it is not scientifically proven to help treat cancer.”