The Food and Drugs Board (FDB) on Tuesday warned the public against Morindy Noni Juice drink which its promoters say has medicinal values.
It said in a statement signed by Dr Stephen Opuni, Chief Executive Officer, that its Post-Market Surveillance activities had revealed that Raddom Marketing Services Limited, a local marketing company and its distributors were engaged in practices that posed “serious threat to public health”.
It said the company and its distributors were distributing unregistered Morindy Noni Juice drink and advertising (with leaflets) the products to have medicinal values.
“Raddom Marketing Services Limited is misleading the general public that their product (Morindy Noni Juice drink) can treat life threatening conditions and certain chronic diseases like Cancers, Stroke, Diabetes, arteriosclerosis, Fibroid, Waist Pain, Asthma, Heart Diseases, Hypertension, Infertility and Impotence,” FDB said.
It warned: “Patients with the above mentioned disease conditions can develop severe life threatening complications if they decide to use Morindy Noni Juice drink for treatment instead of seeking proper medical care.”
FDB said this action of Raddom Marketing Services Limited contravened Section 14 of the Food and Drugs Law, which states: “Any person who labels, packages, sells or advertises any drug, cosmetic, medical device or household chemical in contravention of any regulation made under this law or in a manner that is false, misleading or deceptive as regards its character, constitution, value, potency, quality, composition, merits or safety commits an offence.”
Additionally, Section 15 of the Food and Drugs Law, PNDCL 305 B states that “No person shall advertise any drug, cosmetics, medical device or household chemical to the general public as a treatment, preventive or cure for any of the diseases, disorders or abnormal physical states specified in Schedule 2 of the law.
This includes Sexually Transmitted Diseases, other forms of genito-urinary diseases, AIDS, diseases connected with the human reproductive functions. The rest include Cancers, Diabetes, Epilepsy, Goitre, Heart Diseases, Hernia, Leprosy, Pneumonia, Tetanus, Tuberculosis, Smallpox and others.
Meanwhile, it said, the two distributors who were engaged in selling and misleading consumers on the false medicinal claims of the unregistered Morindy Noni Juice drink at Kaneshie Market (Akutu Junction), had been arrested by the Police CID and were assisting the Police in their investigation. The products found at the premises have been seized.
The FDB advised the general public to patronize approved health facilities whenever they were ill for proper diagnosis and treatment and not to allow themselves to be misled to rely on food products with false medicinal claims since this can only lead to serious health complications.
The FDB assured the general public of its readiness to ensure public health and safety at all times and appealed to the general public to give any information on persons suspected to be in any practice that compromised public health and safety through any of the following contacts; 0244337235, 0244337252, 0244337247, 0246809509 or 0208204968.