Kratom Brands to Stay Away From: 52+ Dangerous Vendors Exposed

⚠️ Critical Safety Notice: At least 52 kratom vendors have documented problems, including deaths, FDA warnings, contamination recalls, and consumer fraud. This guide could save your health—or your life.

You want to know what kratom brands to stay away from for many reasons.

Kratom from Gaia Ethnobotanical, OPMS, MIT45, and Vivazen offers the highest risks. But there are more vendors you should know about.

I spend months reading the FDA actions, death lawsuits, Reddit warnings and forum discussions to give you a blacklist. No speculation, documented facts.

You’ll find bad vendors. Brands linked to deaths to bad quality complaints. And red flags to help you spot a bad kratom vendor before ordering.

The Brands Linked to Deaths & FDA Warnings

Not just bad  kratom quality; they have body counts on their consciousness.

OPMS (Optimized Plant Mediated Solutions)

The FDA officially says: “DO NOT USE.” Especially for OPSM Black Liquid Kratom in 2024.

Tampa Bay Times links OPMS to fatal overdoses. One OPMS Gold shot contains alkaloids equivalent to 15g of raw powder. 15 times stronger compared to traditional kratom use. Hides ownership under 24+ shell LLCs.

Documented deaths: Ethan Pope (23, Georgia), Jeremy Franka (35, Florida), Robert Simmons (Colorado)—acute mitragynine toxicity.

The lawsuit about the products is “perniciously addictive.”

Verdict: Avoid completely. Active FDA death warning.

Vivazen Botanicals

A NIH study found that Vivazen Maeng Da contained 15-16% phenylethylamine. A stimulant not listed on the label. A 54-year-old suffered from a hemorrhagic stroke.

Called “addiction in a bottle.” No AKA certification. No transparent lab testing.

Verdict: Avoid. Documented stroke case. Unlisted substances.

The Kratom Distro / “Space Dust”

$11 million wrongful death judgment. Krystal Talavera died from acute mitragynine intoxication. The product had no labeling, no warnings, no dosage instructions, just “Space Dust” handwritten on the package.

Verdict: Avoid. Fatal. No safety information.

Krypton Kratom

Linked to 9 deaths in Sweden because of O-desmethyltramadol (a synthetic opioid). Too strong to be pure kratom.

Verdict: Avoid. Adulterated with synthetic opioids.

Society Botanicals / Kratom Divine

$2.5 million wrongful death verdict. The first verdict in U.S. history. Patrick Coyne died from “toxic effects of kratom.” The jury found that the company failed to give warnings.

Verdict: Avoid. Landmark wrongful death case.

Remarkable Herbs

Despite AKA GMP certification, the Tampa Bay Times links this vendor to at least 7 fatal overdoses. Testing products contained over 2,600mg of mitragynine.

Verdict: Avoid despite certification. Death cases documented.

Brands Facing Class Action Lawsuits

Active legal problems with serious issues.

MIT45

Federal class action survived dismissal in September 2024. MIT45 failed to warn about addiction risks. One person spent $25,000+ before realizing the dependence. MIT45 Super K contains 367mg mitragynine per bottle, equivalent to 36g of powder.

The judge concluded that MIT45 controls the information about addiction risks, something consumers can’t discover alone.

Verdict: Avoid. Active lawsuit. Extreme concentration levels.

Botanic Tonics (Feel Free)

$8.75 million settlement approved in March 2025. Marketed as a “healthy alcohol alternative,” the product claims the primary ingredient is kratom (not kava as stated). No dependency warnings, which is a must.

Verdict: Avoid. $8.75M settlement for deceptive marketing.

Happy Hippo

Filed for misleading consumers about addiction. Reddit also criticizes it as “ridiculously overpriced” – around $200/kilo.

Verdict: Caution. Lawsuit pending. Extreme prices.

Mitra-9 Brands

Failed to disclose the addictive properties. Packaged with natural imagery and “good vibes” language to create an illusion of safety.

Verdict: Caution. Active lawsuit for concealment.

FDA Recall Brands (Contamination History)

Club 13

FDA Salmonella recall 2018. Consumer complaints continue: wrong strains shipped, abnormal smell/color, prices “10x what they should be.”

Verdict: Avoid. Contamination history. Ongoing complaints.

Triangle Pharmanaturals / Raw Form Organics

Made history as the first mandatory food recall in FDA history (April 2018) after voluntary recall refusal. Because of Salmonella, the entire kratom inventory from April 2017 onward was recalled.

Verdict: Avoid. Defied the FDA. Mandatory recall.

PDX Aromatics / Phytoextractum / Soul Speciosa

Recalled ~10,000 products (March 2018) for Salmonella. Four confirmed cases were traced to kratom products.

Verdict: Avoid. Confirmed illness cases.

Gaia Ethnobotanical

Voluntary recall in June 2018. The FDA found high amounts of heavy metals: nickel 2,890-5,100 ng/g, and lead up to 2,700 ng/g.

Verdict: Avoid. Heavy metal contamination documented.

Bedrock MFG / Monarch Premium Kratom

October 2025 recall for Salmonella in Bali Gold, Red Bali, Green Maeng Da, and White Elephant products.

Verdict: Avoid. Active recall.

Brands with FDA Warning Letters

Kratom vendors who got FDA enforcement actions:

2025 Warning Letters (7-OH Products):

• Shaman Botanicals LLC
• My Smoke Wholesale
• RRR Trading / EDP Kratom
• Thang Botanicals / 7OHMZ
• Royal Diamond Imports / Roxytabs.com
• Hydroxie LLC
• 7Tabz Retail LLC

2022 Warning Letters:

• Herbsens Botanicals
• Klarity Kratom
• Kratom Exchange
• YoKratom (Omni Consumer Products)

2018-2019 Warning Letters:

• Front Range Kratom (also highest heavy metal levels in FDA testing)
• Cali Botanicals
• Kratom NC

Criminal Convictions

Nine2Five LLC / Sebastian Guthery

Pled guilty in July 2023 for illegal importation and money laundering. The first criminal money laundering conviction for kratom. Imported 22,000+ pounds falsely labeled as “Flora Food Botanical Soil Conditioner.

Nomad Botanicals / Matthew Dailey

2 years of federal prison. $1 million forfeiture. Convicted for importing misbranded drugs and operating an unregistered drug facility.

Overseas Organics / Maxwell Horvath

Arrested in 2024 with 92,000 pounds of 7-OH seized. The largest seizure in the country. Previously convicted for MDMA trafficking.

Heavy Metal Contamination (FDA Test Results)

The FDA tested 30 products. All but two contained elevated lead. Worst offenders:

Long-term risks: nervous system damage, kidney damage, anemia, and cancer.

BBB Complaints & Review Warnings

Kratom-K (Henderson, NV)

Not BBB accredited. Complaints: double-charging credit cards, products never shipped, and no lab testing. Reddit: “worst kratom ever tasted,” “severely underpowered.”

Krabot

Trustpilot: “Poor customer service. Little to no communication.” “Capsules do not taste right.”

Buykingskratom

Trustpilot SCAM warnings: “Very bad company, will not return emails.” “Site is broken, phone numbers do not work.”

Mitra Gaia

Quality decline complaints: “Quality has declined over time.” “This stuff is hardly kratom.” “Absent from any effects.”

Reddit & Forum Community Warnings

The kratom community has flagged these vendors repeatedly:

• Kratom USA — Suspected counterfeit product. “Don’t even think it was real kratom.”
• Authentic Kratom — Owner publicly attacked a customer in a forum (2016). Invoice and delivery problems.
• BikHuk — Bulk importer. Orders seized by customs, no refunds, and becomes unresponsive.
• Kratom Eye — “Costs too much money.” “Quality just wasn’t very good.”
• Kwik Kratom — Listed on forums as a vendor to avoid.
• Herbal RVA — Reports of declining quality. Gold Bali “barely active.”

Why ALL Gas Station Kratom Is Dangerous

The kratom community says: never buy from gas stations, head shops, or convenience stores.

The problems:

• Extreme markup: $50/oz vs $5-15 online (1,100%+ markup)
• No lab testing: No COAs, no heavy metal screening, no contamination testing
• Stale product: Poor storage, extended shelf time, potency degradation
• Undisclosed potency: K-Shot Black contained 114mg mitragynine—not listed on bottle
• Dangerous additives: Products have contained tianeptine (“gas station heroin”), synthetic 7-OH, phenylethylamine, and in some cases fentanyl

The 2018 Salmonella outbreak: 199 cases, 54 hospitalizations, 41 states. 55% of FDA-tested products are positive.

Red Flags That Identify Bad Vendors

Avoid any vendor with these warning signs:

How to Verify a Vendor Is Safe

Before ordering from any kratom company:

1. Check AKA certification: Verify at americankratom.org
2. Find lab results: Look for COAs dated within 6 months
3. Search Reddit: r/kratom, r/Vendorsofkratom2 for real feedback
4. Test customer service: Email a question. No response in 24 hours = problem
5. Review return policy: Minimum 30-day satisfaction guarantee
6. Verify pricing: $8-15/oz for quality powder is normal range
7. Check state compliance: Won’t ship to banned states = ethical

Check out the best kratom vendors if you want to be sure.

The Bottom Line

Over 2,000 kratom-related fatal overdoses have occurred nationwide since 2021.

The 52+ vendors documented here are because of:

• Deaths
• FDA enforcement
• Contamination
• Fraud
• Sustained consumer harm

Stick with AKA GMP-certified vendors, demand current lab results, avoid all gas station kratom products, and avoid concentrated extracts. Your health isn’t worth the gamble.