1 Sep 2011
The Department of Health (DH) today (September 1) orders a licensed proprietary Chinese medicines (pCm) wholesaler, Wah Shun Medicine Limited (Wah Shun), to recall from the shelf its product, [W.S] ChuFengT’ouKu Wan (Registration number: HKP-01517), as it is found to be tainted by paracetamol, a western drug, during DH's routine market surveillance. The Government Laboratory confirms the amount of paracetamol detected to be trace only.
The pCm under recall is for use by adults for improving blood circulation and bone pain. It is manufactured in the Mainland, then imported into Hong Kong for wholesale by Wah Shun.
The contaminant, paracetamol, is a pharmaceutical product that has safely been used for its anti-pyretic and analgesic effects for long.
"Initial investigation by DH reveals that though Wah Shun was also responsible for secondary packaging of the said product after import, contamination was unlikely as the product was never exposed, " a DH spokesman remarks.
"Given that in the Mainland, addition of western drug ingredients into pCms are permitted, and as only trace amount of paracetamol was detected, cross contamination of ingredients, during manufacturing or of course, intentional addition could be possibilities here. Hence, the matter is referred to the Mainland's drug regulatory authority for their upstream investigation," the spokesman comments.
To facilitate DH's investigation, Wah Shun is also suspending the sale of a related product, [W.S] Kong Kwood Sun Wan (Registration number: HKP-02392), which has an identical herbal formula and the same Mainland manufacturer, but just bears a different name. The wholesaler has set up a hotline 2571 0775 for related enquiries.
DH will be monitoring the recall while continuing with the investigation.
"Though DH has not received any adverse incident report in connection, contravention of Section 52(1) of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance Cap. 132, selling any drug not of the nature, substance or quality demanded by the purchaser, might have occurred here. The maximum penalty involved is $10,000 and three months' imprisonment. In any case, we will work with the Department of Justice regarding possible prosecution on completion of our investigation," the spokesman states.
"Members of the public who have used the product and are either unsure or feeling unwell should seek advice from their healthcare professionals," the spokesman advises.
Meanwhile, DH's record shows that Wah Shun has a history of being the wholesaler of another tainted pCm, [W.S] Gan Mao Ling -- tainted by arsenic that time. Prosecution against this case is underway.