Siem Reap provincial health department officials burn 1,301kg of unregistered medicines on Tuesday. AKP
Siem Reap Provincial Health Department officials have confiscated and destroyed more than one tonne of 70 types of unregistered health supplements while the Ministry of Health has warned the public to be aware of supplements without approval from the ministry.
Provincial Health department’s health regulatory office chief Ly Vannak told The Post that 1,301kg of unregistered health supplements, equivalent to 1,202,366 tablets, had been destroyed at the landfill in Trapaing Thom commune’s Anlong Pei village of Siem Reap province’sPrasat Bakong district on September 7.
She said the supplements had first been confiscated in 2016 until recently, but due to further investigations and law suits, destroying the products was postponed until 2021.
“Because this work takes time, we give owners time to complain and go to court, and then we ask for permission from the provincial level to burn them all,” she said.
She requested that all pharmaceutical businesses comply with the law and asked citizens to be more careful when purchasing these types of products.
“I would like to call on importers of supplements to apply for the permission to avoid losing money if we have to confiscate them. People should carefully check the products before purchasing them otherwise they could be cheated and lose money,” she said.
Vannak emphasised that currently, Siem Reap provincial health officials continue to cooperate with relevant officials to inspect any drugs or supplements that do not have the proper registration number, expiry date or are of poor quality in Siem Reap pharmacies and confiscate and destroy the products.
Regarding some unregistered food supplements and medicines, the health ministry has banned the import, sale, distribution and promotion of some medicinal products sold on Facebook that have been found to be counterfeit, unregistered and without the proper permit.
Drug importers are urged to register products with the Ministry of Health.
“In accordance with the Law on the Administration of Drugs and the Law on the Amendment, all pharmaceutical products or products which are for the prevention and treatment of diseases in the Kingdom must have a visa number or registration number from the Ministry of Health,” the ministry stated.
The ministry reminded people to check the registration label on a product. Proper registration has two parts, the upper section has the company name and the lower section has a number.
