Food and Drugs Board warns Chinese company

Accra, Dec. 7, GNA - The Food and Drugs Board (FDB) has cautioned the public on the activities of Tasly Co Ltd, a Chinese company, and its distributors who are engaged in practices that pose serious threat to public health and safety.

A statement signed by the Chief Executive of FDB, Dr. Stephen Opuni, said the company and its distributors had been mounting canopies with banners, advertising treatment for various disease conditions, using unapproved medical devices to make misleading diagnosis of certain life threatening diseases and also prescription of food supplements that they claim can treat such diseases.

"The medical devices being used to make these misleading diagnoses by Tasly Co Ltd and their distributors have not been approved by the FDB as required by law", it said.

The FDB said Tasly Co Ltd registered Food Supplements with the FDB and that the public should note that these food supplements cannot treat any medical condition.

"Tasly Co Ltd is now misleading the general public that their food supplements can treat life threatening conditions and certain chronic diseases like leukaemia, cancers, stroke, diabetes, arthritis, fibroid, spinal cord problems, waist pain, asthma, heart diseases, hepatitis, infertility and impotence among others," the statement said. It said these practices of Tasly Co Ltd posed serious health threat to patients who patronize their products since patients with the above-mentioned conditions could develop serious life threatening complications.

The FDB said "this practice of Tasly Co Ltd violates Section 14 of the Food and Drugs Law, which states that 'Any person who labels, packages, sells or advertises any drug, cosmetic, medical device or household chemical in contravention of any regulation made under this law or in a manner that is false, misleading or deceptive as regards its character, constitution, value, potency, quality, composition, merits or safety commits an offence' The statement said two distributors of Tasly products, who were engaged in misleading diagnostic procedures and treatment of patients with unapproved medical devices and food supplements under canopies at Tema Communities One and Nine had been arrested by the police and are assisting the police in their investigation.