The Food and Drugs Board (FDB) is warning the public of two Chinese companies based at East Legon, Accra, that are engaged in activities which pose serious threat to public health and safety.
It said Tasly Co. Ltd and Qunloon Gh. Ltd were importing and distributing unregistered medical devices and herbal medicinal products.
The companies were also putting on the market unauthorized variations of registered products, FDB said in a statement on Monday signed by Dr Stephen Opuni, Chief Executive of FDB.
The Board is, therefore, asking the Chinese companies to halt the importation, distribution, supply, sale and usage of such unregistered products.
It is also advising anyone who has purchased products from them or any other distributor or importer to return them since "the FDB will not deal kindly with anyone found dealing in such unregistered products".
The statement said Qunloon Gh Ltd was repackaging expired medicines and affixing new expiry dates on them.
The company was also forging FDB registration numbers on products that had not been registered with the FDB and flouting the labelling requirements of Ghana (LI1451) by labelling its products only in Chinese without any English translation, it said.
Some of its products have no inscription at all on the primary package.
FDB named some of the unregistered products being imported and distributed by Qunloon as Male Nourishing Oral Liquid, Roma Capsules, Femicare and Araba Ba Zhen Pills II.
The company was also distributing unregistered anti-malarial tablets - Qunloomar 20/120, Qunloomar Paediatric 20/120, Qunmatab Paediatric and Qunmatab.
FBD said Tasly's products, which had not been registered by the Board, included Dual-Usage Massage Cushion, Foot Massager, Household Dish Washing Soap, Bee Pollen soap II, Honey-Pollen Soap II, Shusha Pads-Night and Shusha Pad-Daily.
"The general public is therefore being cautioned that since the above listed products have not been tested and given approval by the Food and Drugs Board, their safety, efficacy and quality cannot be guaranteed."
FDB reminded the general public that importing, selling and supplying medical devices and herbal medicinal products without registering them with the Food and Drugs Board flouted Section 18 of the Food and Drugs Law, PNDCL 305B, which states that 'No person shall manufacture, prepare, sell, supply, export or import into Ghana any drug, cosmetic, medical device or household chemical unless the article has been registered with the Food and Drugs Board.'"
"The FDB hereby directs that all companies or individual who are either using, importing or supplying these unregistered products should immediately halt the practice and seek further directives from the Food and Drugs Board."
FDB also urged the general public to cooperate with the Board by desisting from being subjected to any procedures and risks associated with the use of these unregistered products since their safety, efficacy and quality cannot be guaranteed.
It urged the public to give any information on persons suspected to be in any practice that compromises public health and safety through telephone numbers 0244337235, 0244337252 or 0244337245.