Hoodia importer of weight-loss ingredients has run afoul of a federal law designed to protect endangered plants.

Stella Labs wants to recover 400 barrels of Hoodia held in a Carteret warehouse since they were seized in November by federal authorities at New Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport.

The Hoodia powder was imported in violation of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. The law is designed to protect rare plants and animals by controlling their movement around the world. The hoodia shipment did not have the requisite import documents, and two weeks ago Feds filed suit in federal court in Newark, seeking power to "forfeit and condemn" the Hoodia.

The extract originates in Angola, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa, where bushmen use it to stave off hunger in the desert. Promoters of the Hoodia, who tout it as a weight-loss product, say it curbs the desire to eat.

Don M. Bosco, a New York attorney for Stella Labs, said the company faces a "lose-lose situation."

If the plant extract is released, Stella will have to pay warehouse costs that so far total more than $40,000, he said. And if the Hoodia is not returned, it would cost the company several hundred thousands dollars, he said.

"This is a major, major dollar-value shipment that could put Stella out of business," said Bosco, and described his client as a "small company stuck in the arcane and Byzantine customs regulations."

He said Stella's United Kingdom exporter was responsible for the paperwork.

Sounds like someone did not pay Tony Saprino. Stella Labs is one of the few trusted Hoodia Gordonii importers. This is just another way the Feds will continue to beat down the supplement industry on behalf of the FDA and their friends in Big Pharma. This exact move was also made on importers of ephedra.