The Ministry of Health (MOH) constantly monitors food products in the market with a total of 849 products tested since 2019.
The monitoring results then found 21 food products, comprised of 16 brands, detected to contain scheduled poisons that are illegal to add to the food.
The food products detected consists mostly of instant coffee packs, herbal drinks and sex enhancement pills. MOH found these products to contain scheduled drugs such as sildenafil, tadalafil, dexamethasone and prednisolone, which are prohibited ingredients as it doesn’t comply with the Food Act 1983 and the regulations made thereunder.
Health Director-General, Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, said in a statement today, “Legal action has been taken against the manufacturers or distributors of four of the 16 brands of food products which do not comply with the law. However, the results of the investigation conducted on 12 other food product brands found that the company name and address were false or incomplete.”
DG Hisham also said, all businesses including online traders who still have stocks of the products, were instructed to immediately stop the sales and contact the nearest District Health Office to have it confiscated. He urged those who are using the products to immediately seek advice and treatment from health professionals and advised the public to be careful and aware when buying food products that are mixed with harmful substances.
He also said, “It is the responsibility of the parties involved such as manufacturers, packers, distributors, marketing agents and sellers to ensure that the food products sold comply with relevant regulations. Check out the full list of products below:
Always do your research before buying food products or goods that may contain unwanted and harmful chemicals. Prevention is better than cure.
Source: MKN
