MFDA orders Panadol recall amid quality probe

The Maldives Food and Drug Authority (MFDA) has ordered a halt in consumption of Panadol – a common over-the-counter pain medicine – as it runs tests amid quality concerns.

In an alert on Tuesday, the MFDA said that it discovered quality issues with the medicine during qualitative and quantitative tests run on random samples taken from the market.

As such, some of the tablets tested were found to have defects including chipping and cracking – which the agency said is usually a result of failure to follow proper standards during manufacturing and storage.

MFDA said that there are high chances that such tablets will not be effective.

The agency said it is running additional tests to identify the reason for the defects.

“We therefore instruct pharmacies and general stores to stop the sale of this medicine until informed otherwise by this authority,” said the MFDA. “We also inform that the import of this medicine is restricted until we finish this investigation.”

The agency instructed for stocks of the medicine in pharmacies, warehouses and stores to be separated from other medicine and stored properly.

Panadol, produced by Sri Lanka’s Smithkline Beecham, is one of the most common pain relievers used in the Maldives.