BANGKOK: Thailand’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in collaboration with the Consumer Protection Police Division (CPPD) and the Samut Sakhon Provincial Public Health Office, has seized more than two million herbal inhalers worth over 120 million baht (US$3.69 million) from four illegal manufacturing sites.
The raid followed laboratory findings that Hong Thai Herbal Inhalers were contaminated with harmful microorganisms.
Police investigations revealed that although the company had obtained a manufacturing licence for a factory located in Bang Phai, Bang Khae District, Bangkok, it had secretly produced the herbal products elsewhere without FDA approval – a serious violation of public health laws.
On Oct 30, authorities conducted raids at four illegal production and storage locations, confiscating nine types of herbal products totalling more than 2,350,000 items, with an estimated value exceeding 120 million baht.
Supatra Boonserm, Secretary-General of the FDA, stressed that entrepreneurs must strictly comply with the law, warning that producing or selling counterfeit herbal medicines carries a maximum penalty of ten years’ imprisonment, a fine of up to one million baht, or both.
She added that the FDA will urgently initiate a recall of all counterfeit or unsafe herbal inhalers linked to this case. Samples have been sent to the Department of Medical Sciences for further analysis, and results will be publicly announced soon.
“The contaminated Hong Thai herbal inhalers found at these four unauthorised facilities come in various formulations and production batches. Products made in such illegal sites cannot be guaranteed for safety or quality and may contain hazardous substances harmful to health,” Supatra stated.
She urged consumers to exercise caution when purchasing herbal products, carefully checking for signs of irregularity or unauthorised labelling.
Consumers who encounter suspicious or unlicensed products are encouraged to report them via the FDA hotline 1556 or at provincial public health offices nationwide. - The Nation/ANN
