KUALA LUMPUR: The Perak Health Department’s Pharmacy Enforcement Branch (PEB), have seized 8,000 units of unregistered products and unnotified cosmetics worth almost RM200,000 at three premises in Ipoh, Seri Manjung and Lumut, two weeks ago.
Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the products seized included food items which had been contaminated with sex stimulants such as Candy B+ Complex, Soloco, Hickel and Vimax; unregistered slimming products such as ‘Surut Ayu’ and ‘Li Da’; and health products laced with steroid such as ‘Al-Barakah Ayam Selasih’ and Bella Formula Sinus Care.
‘’Preliminary information on the sale of unregistered products and unnotified cosmetics was detected through monitoring activities on social media which was conducted by state PEB.
‘’Intelligence on the preliminary information shows that the suspect owned three premises which conducted the sale activities and all the premises were one of the largest distribution networks for such products in Perak,’’ he said in a statement, here today.
Dr Noor Hisham also reminded any individual or company selling unregistered products and unnotified cosmetics to cease selling, distributing or using them immediately as their quality and safety were not assured.
“MOH reminds the public against arbitrarily buying health products or cosmetics through social media.
‘’The public must check the product registration status or cosmetics notification before buying by surfing the website https://www.npra.gov.my in the ‘Product Status’ space or contacting the National Pharmacy Regulatory Division (NPRD) at 03-78835400. They can also download the NPRD Product Status application from the Google Play Story for the purpose,’’ he said.
He said that individuals who were found guilty of selling unregistered products and unnotified cosmetics could be fined a maximum RM25,000 or jailed not less that three years or both under a first offence and fined a maximum RM50,000 and jailed not more than five years or both for subsequent offences.
Meanwhile, for companies which were found guilty could be fined up to RM50,000 for the first offence and fines up to RM100,000 for subsequent offences.
Any complaint on unregistered products and unnotified cosmetics could be channelled to the Pharmacy Service Programme, MOH via the website http://www.pharmacy.gov.my or through the Public Complaints Management System (SisPAA) at http://moh.spab.gov.my or any nearby Pharmacy Enforcement Branch.
The public could also lodge complaints by contacting 03-78413200 so that appropriate actions could be taken to eradicate the sale of unregistered products and unnotified cosmetics in the markets, he said. — Bernama
