Feed error
Item disapprovedHealthcare and medicine policy violation
A "Healthcare and medicine policy violation" means Google judged a product to be a restricted or prohibited health item, such as an unapproved supplement, a prescription drug or a product with drug-like claims. Shopify health stores usually hit it through supplement ingredients or claims copied from suppliers.
How this appears in your account
The exact wording the channel shows, so you can match what you are looking at.
- Healthcare and medicine policy violation
- Healthcare and medicines
- Unapproved substances
What it affects
- Channels
- Google Shopping
- Attributes
- title description google_product_category
- Scope
- A subset of items
Why it happens on Shopify
The product contains an unapproved substance
Google does not allow listing certain pharmaceuticals and supplements regardless of any claims of legality. Its list includes products containing ephedra, hCG marketed for weight loss, and herbal or dietary supplements with active pharmaceutical ingredients or other potentially dangerous substances. Being legal to sell in your country does not change this.
The copy implies drug-like or prescription-strength effects
The policy also covers products that imply they work like prescription drugs or controlled substances. Supplier descriptions on Shopify supplement stores often include exactly this kind of comparison, and the title and description are what Google reads.
Prescription or pharmacy-only products are listed without certification
Prescription and behind-the-counter drugs are only allowed in the United States and Canada, and only for certified online pharmacies. In some countries over-the-counter medicines also require pharmacy certification, so a store selling them without it is flagged.
A country-specific restriction applies
Several health categories, such as birth control, fertility tests, pet pharmaceuticals and HIV home tests, are only allowed in certain countries or under certain conditions. A product that is fine in one target country can be disapproved in another.
How to fix it
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Read the exact policy area on each flagged product
Open the product from Needs attention in Merchant Center and note which part of the healthcare policy applies. An unapproved substance, a misleading claim and a certification requirement each need a different fix, and a supplement store often has all three.
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Remove products with prohibited ingredients from the feed
If a product genuinely contains an unapproved substance, rewording will not make it eligible. Exclude it from the Google channel, either by removing it from the Google sales channel in Shopify or with a feed rule keyed on a tag or ingredient metafield, and keep selling it on your own store if that is legal where you operate.
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Rewrite drug-like claims in titles and descriptions
Remove comparisons to prescription drugs or controlled substances and claims of curing or treating conditions. Describe what the product is, its ingredients and dosage form. Edit the Shopify product description itself rather than only the feed, because Google also reviews the landing page.
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Apply for certification where the products allow it
If you are a pharmacy, get accredited by one of the programmes Google accepts, such as LegitScript, NABP or the .pharmacy Verified Websites Program, and then apply for certification with Google. Without it, prescription and pharmacy-only items cannot be listed.
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Request a review only for products that comply
Edited products are re-reviewed automatically. If you believe a product was flagged in error, appeal it from the product details page. Remove genuinely violating items before any bulk appeal, because Google warns a failed bulk appeal can limit later appeals for those products.
How feedlab handles this
feedlab's conditional rules can rewrite the title and description that reach the feed for products matching a tag, type or metafield, so drug-like claims in supplier copy stop reaching the feed while you rewrite the product pages themselves. The rule preview shows which products each condition matches against your real catalogue before the feed is published, but products with prohibited ingredients still need to come out of the Google channel entirely.
Frequently asked questions
My supplement is legal in my country. Why is it disapproved?
Google's unapproved substances list applies regardless of any claims of legality. If a product contains a listed ingredient, it cannot be shown on Google even where it is legal to sell, so it needs to be excluded from the feed.
Can this policy get my whole account suspended?
For most violations, including unapproved substances, Google says it will not suspend without prior warning and issues a warning at least 7 days before any suspension. Egregious violations, such as unauthorised pharmacies or prescription opioid painkillers, lead to suspension on detection.
Will changing the wording in my feed fix it?
Only when the problem is the wording. If the issue is a misleading claim, rewriting the title and description on the product page and in the feed can resolve it. If the product contains a prohibited ingredient, no wording makes it eligible.
Related errors
- Misrepresentation A Misrepresentation suspension means Google judged that your store could mislead shoppers about who you are, what you sell or what a purchase costs. On Shopify it usually traces to thin trust signals: missing contact details or return policy, an unclear business identity, costs revealed late or overstated claims.
- Personalized advertising policy violation A "Personalized advertising policy violation" means Google classed a product as belonging to a sensitive category, such as health or sexual interests. It restricts audience targeting like remarketing and Customer Match rather than removing the product. Shopify stores selling wellness or intimate products see it most.
- Incorrect value: Google product category An incorrect or invalid google_product_category value means the category you submitted does not match an entry in Google's product taxonomy, so it is rejected. On Shopify it usually comes from passing a Shopify category, a collection name or only the last segment of a Google category path.
Primary sources
Channel specifications change. These are the official documents this page is based on.