The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has given Franko Herbal Centre 14 days to recall Franko Herbal Mixture from the market after the FDA said laboratory tests found the product contained diazepam and paracetamol, which were not declared as ingredients.
In a product recall notice signed by the Chief Executive Officer and dated October 19, 2026, the FDA directed the public, retailers and distributors to report anyone still selling the mixture to the nearest FDA office.
The Authority said the manufacturing factory at Jacobu in the Ashanti Region had been closed down. It added that the recalled products would be safely disposed of.
It warned Franko Herbal Centre that failure to comply with the directives could attract further regulatory sanctions, including criminal prosecution.
The FDA said the action followed laboratory analysis of Franko Herbal Mixture, manufactured by Franko Herbal Centre at Jacobu. The product was registered as containing three herbal plants, Carica papaya, Alstonia boonei and Tetrapleura tetraptera.
The analysis, however, established that the mixture had been adulterated with diazepam and paracetamol.
The Authority advised the public against purchasing or consuming the product. It also urged retailers and distributors to comply with the recall directive and report anyone offering the mixture for sale to help remove it from the market.
The FDA described diazepam as a benzodiazepine and a prescription-only medicine used to treat anxiety disorders, acute alcohol withdrawal, muscle spasms and certain types of seizures.
It said paracetamol was an over-the-counter medicine used to relieve mild-to-moderate pain and fever.
According to the Authority, the presence of the two drugs in a herbal medicinal product poses serious health risks.
It explained that diazepam could interact with other medicines and increase the risk of severe sedation, respiratory depression, coma and death.
Long-term use or abuse of the drug could also affect the central nervous system, causing confusion, forgetfulness, dizziness, fatigue, nightmares, hallucinations, impaired judgement and seizures, the FDA said.
On paracetamol, the Authority warned that an overdose could cause severe liver damage and acute liver failure, which could be fatal without prompt treatment.
The FDA said the adulteration of herbal medicinal products was an offence under Section 111 of the Public Health Act, 2012 (Act 851), which prohibits the sale of adulterated herbal medicinal products.
It added that the law also prohibited the manufacture, labelling, packaging, sale or advertisement of herbal medicinal products in ways that were false, misleading or deceptive about their character, nature, quality, substance or composition.
The Authority stated that Franko Herbal Mixture “flouts all these requirements and more”.
It explained that the product was registered as a herbal medicinal product and, therefore, must not contain any other drug substance.
