[LuShenPai] Specific Hou Ton Qing, [AA] Pe Min Kan Wan

Starting date:

January 25, 2012

Posting date:

January 25, 2012

Type of communication:

Foreign Product Alert (FPA)

Subcategory:

Natural health products

Source of recall:

Health Canada

Issue:

Product Safety, Poisoning Hazard, Contamination

Audience:

General Public

Identification number:

RA-120001768

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These products are not authorized for sale in Canada and have not been found in the Canadian marketplace, but it is possible they may have been brought into the country by travellers or purchased over the Internet.

Source of alert

Hong Kong Department of Health

Product names

• [LuShenPai] Specific Hou Ton Qing
• [AA] Pe Min Kan Wan

Manufacturer / Place of origin

[LuShenPai] Specific Hou Ton Qing is imported into Hong Kong by Sing Kwan Trading Co.

[AA] Pe Min Kan Wan is imported into Hong Kong by M & A Natural Healthcare Products Company Limited.

Product description

[LuShenPai] Specific Hou Ton Qing is promoted as a traditional Chinese medicine used to relieve throat discomfort.

[AA] Pe Min Kan Wan is promoted as a traditional Chinese medicine used to relieve a stuffy, runny nose.

Reason for warning

The Hong Kong Department of Health (DH) warned consumers to not use these products after they were found to contain excessive levels of arsenic or mercury, which are heavy metals.

Quantities of Heavy Metals

Product	Heavy Metal	Batch #
[LuShenPai] Specific Hou Ton Qing	Arsenic (about 17.5 times the permitted level in Hong Kong)	100601
[AA] Pe Min Kan Wan	Mercury (about 2.7 times the permitted level in Hong Kong)	1495

The levels of arsenic and mercury found in these products exceed Health Canada's permissible limits.

Ingestion of excessive amounts of heavy metals poses serious health risks because they may accumulate in vital organs of the body. Children are most susceptible to the toxic effects of heavy metals.

Possible side effects

The toxic effects of arsenic include skin and lung cancers, heart and lung diseases, and brain damage. The toxic effects of mercury include irritability, tremors, memory loss, insomnia, concentration problems, and kidney and brain damage.

What you should do

Canadians who have this product are advised not to use it, and should consult with a health care professional if they have concerns about their health related to the use of this product.

Health Canada advises Canadians to contact the Health Products and Food Branch Inspectorate at 1-800-267-9675 if they find the product listed above in the Canadian marketplace.

Background

Drugs and natural health products that are authorized for sale in Canada will have either an eight-digit Drug Identification Number (DIN), a Natural Product Number (NPN) or a Homeopathic Medicine Number (DIN-HM) on the label. These numbers indicate that the products have been assessed by Health Canada for safety, effectiveness and quality.

As of the date of this posting, no adverse reactions suspected to be associated with the use of this product have been reported in Canada.

Report a health or safety concern

• Call toll-free at 1-866-234-2345.
• Visit Health Canada's Web page on Adverse Reaction Reporting for information on how to report online, by mail or by fax.

Media enquiries

Health Canada

613-957-2983

Public enquiries

613-957-2991

1-866-225-0709

Images

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