FDA destroys COA FS recalled from market

Six hundred and ninety-two boxes of the food supplement, COA FS, recalled from the market, have been destroyed by the Food and Drugs Authority in Cape Coast.

The supplement were from a batch the FDA, on April 18, directed the manufacturers to recall from the shelves when it was detected that some samples of the product had been found to be contaminated.

In all, 640 boxes of the 500ml dosage, worth GH¢1,536 and 52 boxes of the 250ml dosage valued at GH¢124,800 were recalled and destroyed.

The Head of the Drugs Marketing Surveillance Department of the FDA, Mr Vigil Prah-Ashun, told the Daily Graphic that the food supplements were crushed and burnt over the weekend at the Nkanfoa landfill site in Cape Coast under the supervision of the regional officers of the authority.

The manufacturers, he said,  cooperated and after successfully recalling the batches as directed, they informed the FDA, whose officials in Cape Coast went to verify.

Monitoring

Mr Prah-Ashun explained that following the directive by the authority for the recall of the products, its officials monitored as the manufacturers complied and had the products returned by the retailers, shops, voluntary submission by buyers, as well as the warehouse of the manufacturers.

He said the FDA was satisfied with the level of compliance from the manufacturers but said it would continue to monitor the markets to ensure that only safe products were produced and sold.

“We have made it part of our daily market surveillance activities and have advised the public not to patronise the product until it gets a final clearance from the FDA,” Mr Prah-Ashun stressed.

Manufacturers

Meanwhile, the manufacturers of the food supplement, COA Herbal Centre, said having complied with the FDA directive, it was now awaiting the next directive from the authority to resume production.

In a statement released last Tuesday, the manufacturer said: “We have recalled all the specific batch numbers from the market as directed by the FDA. Furthermore, and more importantly, the company has embarked on several steps to ensure that its manufacturing site in Cape Coast conforms to the best hygienic practices in the world.

“The production site in the Central Region has seen some major facelifts that will ensure that COA FS products are produced under strict hygienic conditions which conform to international best practices.

“We want to state that COA Herbal Centre is committed to delivering quality, effective, efficient and efficacious products to consumers and will, therefore, comply with all directives by the FDA. Currently, the product is off the market, patiently waiting for the FDA’s final report, which is recognised by law.”